2026 Finalists
Avian Project Award
- Ashland, Former Landfill – GA
- Chemours, Fayetteville Works
- Ontario Power Generation, OPG Nuclear Operations Darlington and Pickering
- Ontario Power Generation, R.H. Saunders Generating Station
Awareness and Community Engagement Project Award
- ExxonMobil, Baton Rouge Greenbelt
- General Motors, DMAX Ltd
- WM, Southern Services Landfill
Bats Project Award
- Freeport-McMoRan, Copper Queen Branch
- Vulcan Materials Company, Durbin Quarry
Forest Project Award
- Flint Hills Resources, Pine Bend
- Grifols Therapeutics, Clayton Facility
- Grupo México, Área de Conservacíón Sierra La Elenita
- Summit Materials, Hamm Sanitary Landfill
Formal Learning Project Award
- Freeport-McMoRan, Port Nickel
- Grifols Therapeutics, Clayton Facility
- Toyota, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas
Grasslands Project Award
- Flint Hills Resources, Pine Bend
- Freeport-McMoRan, NM Operations
- WM, Kirby Canyon Recycling and Disposal Facility
Invasive Species Project Award
- BP, Dutchman
- BP, Opportunity Ponds
- Freeport-McMoRan, NM Operations
- Ontario Power Generation, OPG Nuclear Operations Darlington and Pickering
Land Conservation Agreements Project Award
- Boeing, South Carolina – Keystone/Fairlawn Project
- Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch
Landscaped Project Award
- CalPortland, Center for Technical Excellence
- CalPortland, El Segundo Ready Mix Plant
- Koch Industries, Corporate Headquarters
Mammals Project Award
- BP, Dutchman
- BP, Opportunity Ponds
- Grupo México, Área de Conservacíón Sierra La Elenita
Other Habitats Project Award:
- Vulcan Materials Company, Colton Conservation Bank
- WM, Twin Creeks Landfill
Other Species Project Award
- Buzzi Unicem, Chattanooga Plant
- Lundin Gold, Magnolia yantzazana, a pillar of Fruta del Norte’s sustainable legacy
- Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch
- Ontario Power Generation, OPG Wesleyville Creek Brook Trout Program
Pollinator Project Award
- Chemours, Fayetteville Works
- Ontario Power Generation, OPG Nuclear Operations Darlington and Pickering
- Ontario Power Generation, R.H. Saunders Generating Station
Remediation Project Award
- BP, Opportunity Ponds
- WM, Twin Creeks Landfill
Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award
- Ontario Power Generation, OPG Nuclear Operations Darlington and Pickering
- WM, West Carleton Environmental Centre
Species of Concern Project Award
- Anglo American, Quellaveco
- Freeport-McMoRan, NM Operations
- Matador Ranch & Cattle, Beaverhead Ranch
Training Project Award
- Freeport-McMoRan, Fort Madison Facility
- General Motors, Mogi das Cruzes
- Vulcan Materials Company, Durbin Quarry
Wetlands and Water Bodies Project Award
- BP, Dutchman
- BP, Opportunity Ponds
- Ontario Power Generation, Wesleyville Site
For the following, only one project met the award-level criteria. Therefore, there are no finalists, only a winner to be announced June 2-3.
Desert Project Award
Green Infrastructure Project Award
Invasive Species Coordinated Approaches Project Award
For the following, there are no finalists, only a winner to be announced June 3.
Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Employee Engagement Award
Gold Program Award
Award finalists were chosen from WHC Certification applications submitted from January 1, 2025 – December 1, 2025. Winners will be announced throughout the Tandem Global Conference in Austin on June 2-3, 2026.
Award Criteria
Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Our top award honors one company’s overall achievement in conservation efforts, and signifies an exemplary level of corporate commitment to biodiversity and conservation education, and meaningful alignments with global conservation objectives.
Employee Engagement Award
Presented to one organization, this award recognizes a company’s involvement in conservation through the sheer force of its employee teams who participate in its habitat and conservation education activities.
Gold Program Award
This award recognized the overall depth of one exceptional program in the Gold Certified tier.
Avian Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest-scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of targeted species and at least 1 associated factor (e.g. food sources), and the project must be adaptively managed.
Awareness and Community Engagement Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project meets a need identified by an external group, company or community group based on study or other information (e.g., environmental equity), must clearly relate to a habitat or species project on-site (or support some other conservation project), and must collect good data that can be collected over time.
Bats Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of targeted species and at least 1 associated factor (e.g. food sources), and includes evaluation of monitoring results to develop next steps for the project.
Caves and Subterranean Habitats Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must have appropriate adaptive management practices, adequate monitoring, and includes evaluation of monitoring results to develop next steps for the project.
Desert Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must have appropriate adaptive management practices, annual monitoring, and includes evaluation of monitoring results to develop next steps for the project.
Forest Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must be adaptively managed using appropriate techniques, and monitored adequately at least once per year with results evaluated to create next steps.
Formal Learning Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must be mappable to academic standards, clearly relate to a habitat or species project on site (or support some other conservation project) and must collect good data that can be compared over time.
Grasslands Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of vegetation at least two times a year or adequate monitoring of vegetation at least annually, demonstrates adequate monitoring of at least 1 additional aspect (e.g. wildlife use), and uses the evaluation to create next steps for the project.
Green Infrastructure Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates that there are multiple features of the project that directly impact biodiversity, and the information about the biodiversity impacts should be shared.
Invasive Species Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate annual monitoring, and the control and prevention methods should incorporate appropriate practices.
Landscaping Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project has an adequate monitoring protocol, and the results of the evaluation are used to create next steps for the project.
Mammals Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of the targeted species, and the monitoring results are used to create next steps for the project.
Marine Intertidal Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must be adaptively managed using appropriate techniques, and monitored adequately at least once per year with results evaluated to create next steps.
Other Habitats Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project is adaptively managed using appropriate techniques and monitored adequately with results evaluated to create the next steps for the project.
Other Species Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest-scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of targeted species and at least 1 associated factor (e.g. food sources), and the project must be adaptively managed.
Pollinator Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of targeted species at least once per year and at least 1 associated factor (e.g. food sources), and should have a policy integrated into overall site operations to minimize, eliminate or apply responsible use practices of pesticides and herbicides with supporting documentation.
Remediation Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates that outcomes have some direct ecological benefit, and the information about the biodiversity impacts are shared.
Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring of the targeted species and at least 1 associated factor (such as food sources), and uses the results of monitoring data to create next steps in the project.
Species of Concern Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must include a commitment to long-term or permanent protection, and the data collected about the target species during monitoring is shared with external organizations.
Training Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project must meet a need identified by an external group, company or community group based on study or other information, and the project must clearly relate to a habitat or species project on-site ( or support some other conservation project).
Wetlands Project Award
Awarded to one of the highest scoring projects in this theme, the project demonstrates adequate monitoring and use of monitoring data to create next steps in the project.