Congratulations to all of our inspiring nominees!

Building Project

Beacon Partners - RailYard Project Beacon Partners has developed and acquired office and industrial buildings throughout North and South Carolina for nearly 30 years. Today, we lease, own or manage more than 9.5 million square feet of property in the Carolinas. We work to make a difference with every project by empowering our tenants, improving our communities and delivering exceptional service.

Cousins Properties - Gateway Village, is a 15-acre mixed use development complex, located in Uptown Charlotte and managed by Cousins Properties through a joint venture with Bank of America. The building began working toward their sustainability goals early on by voluntary Energy Star compliance and reaching LEED Gold status (900 building) from USGBC. The three office buildings are home to businesses, retail and restaurants and includes a hotel, gardens, and a fountain with five residential projects surrounding the area.

Little Diversified Architectural Consulting - Headquarters Little is a is a highly diversified firm with a team of more than 400 professionals in five locations across the country. At Little, the tenets of human and environmental sustainability are an important foundation for everything we do. We work every day towards a goal of designing projects that not only do less harm but ultimately do good- regenerative projects that achieve a successful balance between environmental, economic and social factors. During the more than five decades since its founding in 1964, Little has sought to deliver Results Beyond Architecture - results you wouldn’t expect from an architectural firm. We do this by partnering with our clients to uncover all the opportunities available in a project and ask the hard questions that challenge the assumptions in the design brief. Little has served a wide range of clients, including corporations, financial institutions, developers, educational systems and governmental agencies.

Business

Birdsong Brewing Co. Founded in 2011 from humble roots, Birdsong Brewing Co. has grown to become the Charlotte destination for culinary-inspired, super-fresh, unfiltered, American-style ale. Using locally-sourced ingredients and fully embracing musical (and often whimsical) inspiration, Birdsong celebrates creativity with a new, weekly small batch release in the taproom every “Thursty Thursday.” Beloved by locals and sought-after by fans across the Carolinas, the 30-barrel brewhouse and taproom in the Belmont neighborhood embodies the #CanDoWillDo philosophy behind what Birdsong brews, thinks and believes. Charlotte’s third oldest brewery is the first in the Queen City to embrace solar power, installing a 75 kilowatt array for the roof of the brewery in 2018.

Carolina Urban Lumber is a local Charlotte Based Company. The unique way CUL has operated is its source of raw materials ( Trees ). CUL only uses trees which have come down for some reason and are going to a stump dump or grinding site to meet their demise. CUL up-cycles these trees into 100's of usable products, only then sold locally. Do date, 5 years in business, CUL has diverted 4,000,000 lbs of unwanted trees from being turned into wood chips that often leave our area to be burned for fuel. CUL also has an edible industrial site where all plants and trees bare fruit or nut or vegetable. CUL wants to lead by example, all the while creating a business that is viable and scalable.

Charlotte Cycles has bicycles and tricycles for all types of riders. They can convert your existing bike or trike to have electric assist. In addition to having leading categories of bicycles for urban mobility like folding, city commuters, and cargo, they have innovative services to provide full support and convenience to the cyclist. They have a mobile showroom which also acts as a demo van, a separate mobile service van that operates within 15 miles of the Charlotte city center, and a trailer that they use to pickup things like the Trishaws at Mecklenburg Parks and Rec facilities.

Community Room Rental An economical and green approach to living in Charlotte. Community Room Rental’s Co-Living communities across town offer a diverse group of tenants and professionals sharing single-family homes to create an inclusive atmosphere and sense of belonging while balancing local resources.

Energy Conservation Solutions (ECS) is a fully-integrated residential energy management solutions company who educates homeowners on a daily basis about the benefits of reducing their carbon footprint through energy efficiency and renewable energy. ECS provides residential homeowners the security of knowing that they are making the right decisions for their largest investment – their home. ECS provides a FREE home efficiency evaluation to help determine what steps are needed to ensure our customers are making the right investment when it comes to energy efficiencies. Our energy specialists will evaluate the home’s current energy consumption and determine if/where the inefficiencies are within the home that are causing the homeowner to waste money. Most customers think they just need a large solar system to help reduce their energy costs and think the more energy their house uses, the more solar panels they will need. This is where the ECS difference matters.

Free Range Brewing is the dream made real of Jeff and Jason Alexander, brother brewers inviting you to “let your taste buds roam.” Brewed in small-batches and crafted with local ingredients to create one-of-a-kind creations.Free Range Brewing believes it is important to foster creativity while building a strong community foundation. Whether it’s sourcing an ingredient, featuring an artist, supporting a cause or doing a full-on beer collaboration, it’s important to cultivate connections within the community.Our collaborations and partnerships with local farmers, chefs, artists and businesses aren’t just to make better beer, but to build a better community.

Ginkgo Residential is a multi-family property management firm with over 30 locations across NC, SC, and VA. Their corporate office is in Charlotte, NC and they've been in business since 2013 as Ginkgo but operated as BBR Management before that.

Haymaker Restaurant is an innovative farm to table restaurant by Chef William Dissen located on Romare Bearden Park in Uptown Charlotte that focuses on the use of hyper local and sustainable ingredients. The building is a Leed Silver building and the space was built out using recycled and reused materials. The business strives to help make a positive impact by working with the community to grow the neighborhood into a place that supports local businesses, arts, and not for profit businesses.

Little Diversified Architectural Consulting is a is a highly diversified firm with a team of more than 400 professionals in five locations across the country. At Little, the tenets of human and environmental sustainability are an important foundation for everything we do. We work every day towards a goal of designing projects that not only do less harm but ultimately do good- regenerative projects that achieve a successful balance between environmental, economic and social factors. During the more than five decades since its founding in 1964, Little has sought to deliver Results Beyond Architecture - results you wouldn’t expect from an architectural firm. We do this by partnering with our clients to uncover all the opportunities available in a project and ask the hard questions that challenge the assumptions in the design brief. Little has served a wide range of clients, including corporations, financial institutions, developers, educational systems and governmental agencies.

Sun Raised Farms provides developers and owners of solar farms with a ground maintenance solution using sheep sourced from local farms. Sun Raised Farms promotes a symbiotic relationship between renewable solar energy and agriculture by grazing sheep from local communities on solar farms across NC and VA. By partnering with local farmers that are committed to sustainability and animal welfare practices, we are creating a winning solution for the solar farm owner, the local community, while preserving a farming way of life. Grazing of livestock is one of the best ways to maintain the vegetation on a solar farm as it is low impact, sustainable, and integrates the local community into the project.

The PNC Music Pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater that hosts large concerts. They are part of Live Nation, an events promoter. The PNC Music Pavilion opened in 1991 and holds up to 19,500 attendees.

Third Rock Events is a premier Charlotte event production company. They focus on building sustainable events and being a positive impact to the community. Third Rock Events works with non-profits and the most notable festivals are South End Hops Fest, University City Wine Fest, South End Wine Fest, University City Kids Fest and many more.

Wild Hope Farm At Wild Hope Farm, we are passionate about bringing high-quality, organic food into our local communities through sustainable farming. We are using regenerative agricultural practices to intentionally build our soil health and turn the land into a productive operation through Community Supported Agriculture. Our hope is to grow the land into a space for education, exploration, and celebration centered around nature.

Government Agency

Charlotte City Council Charlotte has a council-manager form of government with 12 people, a mayor and 11 council members, elected every two years. The mayor and four council members are elected at-large by a city-wide vote. Seven council members are elected from districts by voters who reside in each district. These 12 people are the "board of directors" for the City. As such, they set policy, approve the financing of all city operations and enact ordinances, resolutions and orders.

Mecklenburg County Park and Rec Commission The PRC consists of appointed citizen-volunteers who spend hundreds of hours annually to meet with Park staff, coordinates the work of 100's more parks advisory council volunteers and advocates for governmental transparency to build a sustainable park system for Mecklenburg County.

CDOT - Open Streets 704 is a family-friendly celebration of community, connectivity, and physical activity in Charlotte. Attracting nearly 100,000 participants in six events over 3 years, Open Streets 704 is a day of car-free and carefree streets where people can experience their hometown in a way that’s just not possible by car.
Open Streets events create a temporary, linear park by opening the roads to pedestrian, bicycle, and other “people powered” transportation, so the streets can be used for walking, cycling, dancing, playing, and connecting neighbors. The same ribbons of asphalt that connect cars to work, school, or shopping, often serve as barriers between neighbors due to traffic volume, design, or lack of safe pedestrian or non-motorized access. Open Streets 704 aims to build a better, healthier, and more connected community by encouraging Charlotte and Mecklenburg area residents to walk, bicycle, and experience the city together in a healthy, no-cost, and easily accessible way.

City of Charlotte Sustainability Office For their work with the creation and passage of the Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte Resolution and the Strategic Energy Action Plan.

Individual

Jason Wallace is an incredible community contributor and a power player in our city who is not only one to watch, but a person to get behind to support. Community Room Rentals is exactly what our innovators, entrepreneurs, business members need in helping you network yet they amplify resources where our city lacks. A huge milestone for any business, let alone one that has been built organically and has had tremendous growth.

Ben Jacoby, brings over 20 years of experience in facility maintenance management. As Acting Sustainability Manager, he has been instrumental in the creation and launch of commercial waste management and compost plans for Corporate Real Estate at LPL Financial’ s campus in Fort Mill, SC since 2016. He also serves as Sustainability Employee Action Committee Co-Chair, Wipe Out Waste Ambassador, and has been a Commercial Composting speaking panelist for LUESA. Through his years of experience in commercial and residential facility maintenance management Ben has been able to leverage professional services with local vendors serving LPL. He is an Accredited Office Ergonomic Evaluator. Ben is a city liaison for over 100 homes in York County and holds a LEED Green Association certification while orchestrating campus Earth Day events and other green initiatives.

Brad Bostian maintains the First Year Experience Lab for Central Piedmont Community College. He goes beyond to make sure each student or potential receives the highest respect and attention. His small staff of 5 truly do not mind his efforts in that he comes on the floor to assistance with no hesitation.

Dimple Ajmera is the Chair of the Charlotte City Council’s Environment Committee and City Council Member at-large. During her first term she worked tirelessly to get a resolution passed in support of a “Sustainable and Resilient Charlotte By the Year 2050”. This resolution is a commitment by the City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the driver of climate change, both within city operations as well as for the entire city. Council member Ajmera’s commitment to collaboration resulted in the resolution being fully supported by all Council members. Furthermore, she led one of the first, if not, the first stakeholder process by the City’s Environment Committee which was open to the public to contribute comments on a regular basis, both in-person and on-line to the development of the Strategic Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The SEAP which will be used to meet the resolution’s goals and was unanimously adopted the City Council in December.

Mattie Marshall is president of Historic Washington Heights. Helped form a Historic West End coalition that brought together their efforts to improve the environment in west Charlotte.

Ron Ross is president of Northwood Estates Community Organization. Helped form a Historic West End coalition that brought together their efforts to improve the environment in west Charlotte.

Stephen Graddick IV was selected out 500 entries to come up with a green project for Toyota with Green Initiative Project and won $10,000 for beautified his then College Livingstone College and Help with Green Project at His Alma Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte. He lives and breathe Sustainable with His own Green Initiative Program. He is our Future Leader to save our Planet.

Summer Minchew was committed to sustainability, the local community, and wider environmental networks, Summer Minchew truly shines as a green leader and advocate.
Summer’s professional accomplishments are numerous and her tireless work ethic abundant. As owner and Managing Partner of Ecoimpact Consulting, she manages all aspects of multiple green building certification projects focused on increased sustainability.Dedicated to many community service projects, Summer provides organizational guidance as Board Co-Chair for Shalom Green: Shalom Park Environmental Initiative and as Board Co-Chair for US Green Building Council’s Carolinas Community. While skillfully juggling these responsibilities, Summer devotes quality time to family, friends, and deeply personal missions, including the Hydrocephalus Association, volunteering for 7 years as their Charlotte Community Network Leader. Both personally and professionally, Summer is generous with her knowledge, time, and empathy for others. She is just lovely!

Trevor Fuller is married to Camille Davidson, both are attorneys. He shared with his wife two wonderful, one in college and the other a senior. Mr. Fuller has served on the Mecklenburg County Commission terms and chair for 3. His leadership on the commission has been outstanding.

Vickie Breemes directs the talented professionals on Little’s Advanced Building Technologies team, whose sole focus is furthering the firm’s progress in the areas of technical quality, sustainability and professional development. A passionate advocate for “doing the right thing” to preserve our planet, Vickie filters her daily responsibilities through that lens to ensure each decision she makes and every action the team takes supports this goal. She believes that viewing sustainability in its simplest form will stimulate knowledge sharing and spark breakthrough thinking, resulting in superior results and creating a better future for people.

William Hughes, resident of Oaklawn Park Community Improvement Organization. Helped form a Historic West End coalition that brought together their efforts to improve the environment in west Charlotte.

Charlene Mack is the Chair of the Equitable Transportation Team of the West Boulevard Neighborhood Coalition. Charlene has been an active advocate of improving safe transportation access along the West Boulevard corridor in Charlotte.

Non-Profit

Catawba Farm and Food Coalition is a 501(c)3 non-profit that serves a 5-county area between the NC border and Columbia, SC, representing the counties of York, Chester, Lancaster, Union, and Fairfield. They are improving the local food system by supporting agribusiness development, connecting farmers to sell their products directly to consumers and now wholesale with the online and physical food hub which connects the entire state, and working to improve food policy, systems, and environments throughout the region.

Trips for Kids/Charlotte Re-Cyclery is more than just a bike shop, it keeps bicycles and parts out of landfills by putting them back on the streets as affordable, environmentally-friendly transportation. Over the past decade, we have accepted thousands of donated new and used bicycles, parts, and accessories from individuals and manufacturers across the country. Bike donations are 100% tax-deductible and are either refurbished by our bike shop mechanics, salvaged for parts, or used for our youth programs. All Items that cannot be reused are fully recycled. If that isn't enough, the majority of the Re-Cyclery's income directly supports the Trips for Kids programs for underserved youth. All of our mechanics including our Manger, Eric Supil are dedicated to the shop being 100% sustainable and we have been invited to be a part of the Innovation Barn, a proposed lab that produces breakthroughs in recycling technology along with a circular economy coming to Charlotte in August of 2019.

Food Connection Charlotte provides meets a must needed service in the Charlotte area. Thus far they have partnered with 2 local colleges and universities dinging programs to recover surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away and sent to a landfill and deliver it to a local shelter or soup kitchen.

Learn to Ride program teaches participants of all ages how to effectively ride a bike without training wheels, exposing them to the freedom and capabilities that come with people-powered transportation. Learn to Ride was created to address the request of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County parents to help them teach their kids to ride. Program managers quickly realized the need and desire to teach grown-ups, too, realizing it’s never too late to learn this life skill. Now in its fifth year, Learn to Ride is a 100% volunteer program that hosts five (5) free community events each year, and has helped thousands of kids (and grown-ups!) of all ages learn to ride a bike.

Piedmont Culinary Guild (PCG) is a 501 C3 nonprofit founded on the principle of sustaining the local food system and growing the local food economy. PCG is a hub for innovative chefs, farmers, food artisans, culinary educators, and others in the food community committed to sharing strengths and resources, as well as educating and engaging consumers in order to preserve and protect our local lands and the unique flavors they provide. Already in 2019, PCG has expanded its efforts into the Triad and Triangle areas of NC, and will soon be in Asheville, with "sister guilds." Those extensions of PCG will serve to continue spreading the message of agricultural sustainability and food security across NC, while also creating a network for culinary professionals in those regions to deepen relationships, encourage growth, and increase consumer engagement.