Commonwealth_ The 2025 Clean50 Award winners were formally announced on October 10, 2024, and honored individuals and initiatives across Canada who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in mitigating climate change and leading Canada towards a low-carbon economy. Awards are presented to industry, government, academic, and environmental leaders who, between January 2023 and March 31, 2025, made a measurable contribution to sustainability and climate action.
Late nominations in the previous year will be carried forward into the 2026 Clean50 Awards, once more providing an opportunity to celebrate exceptional contributions to Canada’s climate objectives. The awards find the most influential people and initiatives, such as 50 individual leaders, 20 emerging stars, five lifetime winners, and Canada’s 25 greatest sustainability projects.
The Clean50 Awards are created with the purpose of recognizing leadership in all its forms. Recognized recipients are people who hold executive or thought leadership roles within 16 different categories that span nearly the full breadth of Canadian activity linked to climate. They span through industries such as energy, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing, as well as education, government at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels, environmental NGOs, and venture capital. Every industry has a minimum of two spots on the ultimate Clean50 list, providing extensive industry-wide coverage.
In addition to individual awards, the awards also celebrate climate-action projects. Eligible projects for awards are judged on five main points, called the five “I”s: they must have a measurable impact, be innovative, offer valuable information, be inspirational, or be easy for others to copy. The top 25 nationally known sustainability projects are chosen from those that respond to one or more. They represent the very best examples of well-functioning climate solutions and instances of possibilities for replication and extensive use in Canada.
The Clean50 Awards also focus on cooperation and exchange of knowledge. The winning project teams and leaders—100 honorees total—will gather at the 15th Clean50 Summit in Fall 2025. Approximately 25 past honorees will also be invited, a chance to meet, exchange best practices, and discuss cooperative opportunities to drive climate solutions faster. The summit gives honorees an opportunity to exchange stories and approaches and galvanizes even greater action in their own industries and communities.
The awards procedure is open and transparent, making calls for nominations from any individual who is aware of exceptional individuals or projects that are making an impact. Short nominations, which take just approximately 30 seconds to fill in, are provided throughout the year, making calls for nominations from peers, colleagues, and members of the public at large to nominate candidates to be recognized. This process helps guarantee deserving persons or initiatives, who could have otherwise gone unnoticed in previous years, the recognition they deserve.
The Clean50 Awards not only honor accomplishments but also express the diversity of approaches and tactics that drive Canada’s climate action. All the award winners are themselves leaders in fields such as greenhouse gas emissions reduction, in favor of the use of renewable energy, environmentally sustainable infrastructure development, corporate sustainability, and climate change awareness and education. In featuring such leaders, the awards encourage greater numbers of people and companies across Canada to embrace innovative and effective strategies.
In addition to celebrating success today, the Clean50 Awards also form a community of climate leaders that can exchange learning related to initiatives and good practices. By bringing the leading leaders, emerging innovators, and past award winners together, the program forms stronger networks and collaborations that have the ability to drive the implementation of climate solutions at the national level. The prize also brings the leaders and projects into the limelight so that they can leverage support, funding, and attention from stakeholders in industries.
With its rigorous selection process, broad representation, and focus on impact, innovation, and collaboration, the Clean50 Awards remain at the forefront of honoring Canada’s most influential climate leaders. The initiative reconfirms the importance of shining a light on and celebrating those individuals and efforts propelling Canada toward a low-carbon, sustainable future and challenging others to do the same.
