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How to Enter
Annual Awards Process
The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards are given annually. Nominations are due December 31 each year for an awards ceremony normally in late June.
Download the Nomination Package for Awards (PDF) (11 pp., 381 KB, About PDF).
How to Enter the Award Competition
The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge is open to all individuals, groups, and non-governmental organizations in the United States, both nonprofit and for profit, including academia and industry. To be eligible for the award, a nominated technology must meet the scope of the program:
- It must be green chemistry (i.e., has a significant chemistry component and is source reduction)
- It must have reached a significant milestone within the past five years (e.g., been researched, demonstrated, implemented, applied, patented, etc.)
- It must also have a significant component within the United States.
Entries must be sent no later than December 31. Awards will be presented the following summer in Washington, DC.
Nominated green chemistry technologies should be an example of one or more of the three focus areas. Green chemistry technologies will be judged on how well they meet the selection criteria (where applicable). One award will be made in each of the five award categories; the judges may use their discretion, however, to make more than one award or no award in any one category.
Self-nominations are allowed and expected. There is no entry fee and no standard entry form, but nominations must meet certain requirements. Nominations must be single-spaced and no longer than eight pages with 12-point type; references, captions, and footnotes may be as small as 10-point. When printed on 8½-by-11-inch paper, they must have margins of at least 1 inch. Nominations that do not meet these requirements may be rejected by EPA. Nominations may include chemical reactions, tables, graphs, photographs, and other illustrations. Although nominations may be in color, the judges may read the nominations printed in black and white. Nominations should not, therefore, require color for interpretation.
Nominations must include the following:
- A cover page with the
- a. Project title followed by the date of the nomination.
- b. Primary sponsor(s): the individual or organizational owner of the technology. For academic nominations, the primary sponsor is usually the principal investigator. For nominations with more than one sponsor, each co-sponsor should have had a significant role in the research, development, or implementation of the technology.
- c. Contact person: the one individual with whom EPA should communicate regarding the nomination. For academic nominations, the contact person is usually the principal investigator. For other nominations, the contact should be a project manager or other technical representative.
- d. Contributors (optional): those individuals or organizations that have provided financial or technical support for development or implementation of the nominated technology.
EPA will add the person listed as a contact to a contact database. EPA periodically sends reminders and updates about the program to those in this database. Individuals may opt out at any time.
- The second page should contain the following information:
- Project title.
- Short description of the most recent milestone(s), with date(s), that the nominated technology has reached within the past five years. One or two lines are sufficient. Examples include, but are not limited to: critical discovery made, results published, patent application submitted or approved, pilot plant constructed, and technology implemented or commercialized. Only one milestone is required.
- A sentence indicating whether the nominated technology is eligible for the small business award, the academic award, both or neither.
- Identification of the focus area (or areas) that fit your technology. No explanation is needed.
- Description of the research, development, or aspects of the technology that occurred within the United States. If the only aspect of the technology within the Unites States is product sales, the nomination may not meet the scope of the program.
- Abstract not to exceed 350 words that describes the nominated technology, the problem it addresses, and its benefits. Include the state of implementation of the technology and any quantitative benefits such as amount (or potential amount) of hazardous substances eliminated. EPA plans to publish these abstracts in its annual Summary of Award Entries and Recipients booklet. If you are renominating a technology, you may use the abstract previously published by EPA in whole or in part.
- Note: An executive summary is no longer necessary.
The information in this section should fit on page 2, but you may continue on page 3 if necessary.
- The remaining pages should explain in detail how the nominated technology meets the scope of the program and the selection criteria. Explain the following:
- The chemistry of the new technology, emphasizing how the technology is innovative and of scientific merit. Consider including chemical structure diagrams rather than text to describe your chemistry. Patent numbers or references to peer-reviewed publications may strengthen your nomination. The judges recognize the interdisciplinary nature of green chemistry; however, to be eligible for an award, your technology must include a significant chemistry component.
- The problem (environmental or human health risk) that your technology addresses, the importance of that problem, and how your technology solves the problem.
- How your technology compares with other technologies that may address the same problem.
- The realized or potential benefits and drawbacks across all stages of your technology's lifecycle: from feedstocks to manufacture to use of the product to ultimate disposal of the product.
IMPORTANT: To make the strongest presentation of your technology for the judges, you should include as much nonproprietary detail as possible in your nomination. The judges will pay close attention to the specifics of your chemistry, including detailed reaction pathways, comparisons to existing technology, toxicity data, quantities of hazardous substances reduced or eliminated, degree of implementation in commerce, and other technical, human health, environmental, and economic benefits. The judges recognize that some sponsors will not be able to conduct a full lifecycle analysis, but like to see a discussion of impacts across the lifecycle. In addition, EPA strongly encourages you to compare the cost, performance, and environmental profile of your technology with any competing technologies. This may help you demonstrate the broad applicability of your technology.
It may help the judges if you address the status of any novel chemical substances or organisms under any appropriate laws such as TSCA, FIFRA, or FFDCA, especially if the technology is or is about to be commercially available.
You may include structure diagrams, tables, other graphics, and references, but all information must fit within the eight-page limit. You may use color in your nomination, but be aware that the nomination may be printed in black and white, so information in color may be illegible.
You may nominate more than one technology, but you must submit a separate nomination for each technology. You should probably combine multiple applications of the same general technology in a single nomination, however.
All entries received will be considered public information. No material will be returned. Program sponsors are not responsible for lost or damaged entries. EPA acknowledges receipt of nominations, usually by email to the person listed as the Contact Person. If you have not received an acknowledgment by mid-January, please contact the Green Chemistry Program at greenchemistry@epa.gov or (202) 564-8740.
Submit an electronic copy of the nomination in such a format that EPA can select and copy text from it. Please include the primary sponsor's name in the file name. It may be to your advantage to submit your nomination as a .pdf file to minimize possible reading errors, but EPA accepts and is able to read all common file types. You should email the electronic copy to greenchemistry@epa.gov. If you cannot send the file via email, you may send it on a CD, clearly labeled with the sponsor(s). The nomination must be sent no later than December 31.
Note: Irradiation of Federal mail may damage electronic media. To send a disk, please use a package delivery service and the following address:
Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge
Attn: Richard Engler
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA East, Room 5133
1201 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004
Telephone: 202-564-8740
Additional details are available in the Nomination Package for Awards (PDF) (11 pp., 381 KB, About PDF).
Judging Entries
A panel of technical experts selected by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute
will judge the entries. These experts might include members
of the scientific, industrial, governmental, educational,
and environmental communities. Judges may request verification
of any chemistry described or claims made in entries that
are selected as finalists. The judges will select as award
recipients those green chemistry technologies that
best meet the selection criteria.
Notification of Winners
Winners will be notified prior to the official public announcement, which will be made in spring or summer in Washington, DC. A crystal sculpture will be presented to the primary sponsor(s) of the winning green chemistry project in each of the five award categories. Certificates will be presented to individuals (as identified by the primary sponsor) who contributed to the research, development, or implementation of the chemistry.
Additional Information
Direct any questions about eligibility, nomination procedures, or the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge program to EPA's Industrial Chemistry Branch at greenchemistry@epa.gov or (202) 564-8740.
Download the Nomination Package for Awards (PDF) (11 pp., 381 KB, About PDF). The closing date for the awards is December 31.
Read on about past award entries and recipients.