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Award Categories | Award Criteria | Nomination Process | Recipients

For more than 25 years, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has managed the Indiana Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence to recognize exemplary environmental practices. The award is open to all Indiana facilities, state and local units of government, individuals, and technical assistance organizations that implement outstanding environmental projects with measurable results. Nominations and applications submitted to IDEM are reviewed by a selection committee comprised of representatives from industries, environmental organizations, educational organizations, and government officials.

Information on both the most recent and previous award recipients may be found below. Each link will have one or more files containing a summary of each project. High resolution photographs are available for each of this year's recipients.

2025 Award Recipients

Environmental Education and Outreach (Two Awards)

    Central Noble Community Schools; Albion, Noble County

    Central Noble Community School uses a Forest Kindergarten model center where children are immersed in an outdoor education center. They offer a model for learning-led, inquiry-based teaching with an emphasis on social and emotional development to assist children in problem solving and critical thinking, which fosters children’s willingness to learn.

    Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams; Winona Lake, Kosciusko County

    Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams engages approximately 12,000 K-12 students annually. By means of classroom aquariums, field trips, outdoor experiences and annual art contests, these projects helped foster environmental responsibility by making water conservation hands-on and accessible.

Land Use and Conservation (Two Awards)

    The Muncie BWQ is improving water quality by propagating freshwater mussels into the  local waterways. Freshwater mussels can individually filter 15-20 gallons of water a day*, by using their gills to extract food from the water column. They remove bacteria (including E. coli), excess nutrients, sediment and pathogens while also retaining sediment and reducing erosion when the mussels bury themselves.

    Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District (HCSWCD)  developed a coalition of individuals and organizations to remove invasive species, restore native species, and map invasive species hotspots.

Recycling and Reuse (Two Awards)

    Since 2010, the Hornet’s Nest Reuse Store has been operated by the Jackson County Solid Waste Management District to educate the community on the importance of reusing clothing and housewares. Reuse keeps materials out of the landfill and saves even greater resources and energy than recycling. The solid waste district has partnered with organizations in the region to have additional impacts on reductions and fill material needs.

    Pepper Construction; Indianapolis, Marion County

    Started in 2023, the Pepper Construction Waste Reduction Program is providing a highly effective onsite construction recycling program to reduce costs to customers through a unique partnership with Construction Waste (CW) Recycling. Pepper’s program makes participation easy because there is no additional cost to customers and it does not require the time and effort for construction workers to segregate materials by type (concrete, cardboard, wood and metals) onsite.

2024 Award Recipients

Environmental Education and Outreach

  • Dubois Co. Soil and Water Conservation District: The Vincennes University Jasper Campus Land Stewardship Initiative, a partnership between the Dubois County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Vincennes University Jasper Campus, continues to educate farmers and others about increasing crop yield through healthy soil practices.

Five-Year Continuous Improvement

  • Eli Lilly and Company (Indianapolis): Lilly’s commitment to reducing environmental risk through pollution prevention and sustainability practices and its dedication to continual improvement projects is demonstrated through employee education and internal communication, continuous improvement, innovation, and outreach. The company’s approach has led to reductions in waste, hazardous waste, energy consumption, and costs.

Land Use and Conservation (Two Awards)

  • Delta Institute and Hobart Sanitary District: Delta Institute and the Hobart Sanitary District collaborated on restoring the Duck Creek Tributary, which reduced flooding by decreasing the amount of sediment and increasing the amount of rainwater captured while restoring native plant and animal communities. Outreach activities were done at the local and regional levels to ensure the effectiveness of the project, transparency, and ongoing community support.
  • Hendricks Co. Recycling District: In 2023, the Hendricks County Recycling District built a new recycling center in Lizton on a brownfield site that was previously a filling station. The new facility replaced an unattended but active recycling center in the community that was experiencing increasing levels of misuse and abuse. Now, friendly, active and knowledgeable attendants greet residents, answer questions and enforce the recycling rules to ensure that only those materials that can be recycled are accepted. As a result, contamination is nearly non-existent. Since its grand opening, the Lizton Recycling Center has been visited more than 20,000 times and has collected almost 250 tons of recyclables.  This project was funded in part by the Indiana Community Recycling Grant Program.

Pollution Prevention

  • Electro-Spec (Franklin): Although Electro-Spec once used trichloroethylene (TCE) in a vacuum vapor environment to safely degrease metals, the chemical can cause environmental issues if not handled properly.​ Alternative solvents did not have the low surface tension required to clean small parts or work in ​Electro-Spec's equipment. The purchase of a new vacuum vapor degreaser allowed Electro-Specto eliminate the use of TCE in their facility and resulted in a three-year cost savings of over $10,000. The machine also helps employees with ergonomic issues by enabling it to be operated without heavy lifting and bending.

Recycling and Reuse (Two Awards)

  • Dearborn County Solid Waste Management District: The Dearborn County Solid Waste Management District has a robust group of reuse programs, including a reuse center for school and craft supplies, a formal dress exchange, a costume exchange, an event décor lending program and a holiday item giveaway. The purpose of all of the reuse programs is to divert reusable materials from disposal in landfills while, at the same time, supplying residents with valuable, needed items. The programs help educators in Dearborn County save money on classroom items and provide a place for educators to donate items they no longer need. Meanwhile, local families save money on events and give single-use items, such as costumes, a second life.
  • Muncie Sanitary District: In 2023, the Muncie Sanitary District (MSD) received a grant from the Indiana Recycling Market Development Program. Through grant funding and the required 50% match, the district purchased one recycling truck, updated another and purchased 3500 new residential recycling bins to update the city's 25-year-old sort and bag residential recycling program. MSD's online opt-in pledge program allowed residents to receive a free 96-gallon blue recycling bin after receiving information on how to recycle correctly and take a pledge to do so. Over 8,000 households took the pledge in 2023. As a result, MSD added another recycling route to their daily operations; runs three recycling trucks a day to accommodate the growing recycling curbside signups; offers a weekly curbside pickup to residents on their scheduled trash day; and partners with several local businesses and other organizations, to pick up their recycling. After five months of collecting recyclables at the curb in the new totes, MSD collected an estimated 490 tons (980,000 lbs.) of recycled materials and eliminated the need for residents to sort their recycled materials by type.

Previous Year Award Recipients

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