The below projects were selected from a large group of nominees by a panel of judges comprised of members of the Savannah Sustainability Council. 

The Council was founded in 2024 by PSC Commissioner Tim Echols, Savannah Alderman Nick Palumbo, and Chatham County Commissioner Adot Whitely. This awards contest was created by the Savannah Sustainability Council in an effort to highlight sustainability work along the Georgia Coast. 

The awards will be presented on October 30th, 2025 in two different ceremonies. The first will take place at Plant Riverside’s MLK Park in Savannah at 11:00am. The second will be held at the Kit Jones Historic Vessel in Kit Jones Park in Darien at 2:00pm. 

The projects are listed below, and Commissioner Tim Echols recused himself because of his current election.

Sapelo Sea Farms – Sapelo Sea Farms does sustainable aquaculture, farming clams and oysters in reusable bags and cages on mud flats or floating cages in and around Sapelo Sound. SSF believes if you take care of your environment, then your environment can take care of itself.

Tybee Island Marine Science Center – The new, sustainably designed Marine Science Center on Tybee Island is optimally situated for minimal impact on the dune system and to catch prevailing winds for passive cooling and ventilation, and utilizes a multitude of energy efficiency and sustainability strategies in its day-to-day function. Tybee Island Marine Science Center is committed to cultivating a responsible stewardship of coastal Georgia’s natural resources through education, conservation, and research.

Plant Riverside District – Savannah’s Plant Riverside District is the result of an extensive eight-year process, resulting in the comprehensive restoration of a landmark historic site, a quarter mile extension of the city’s renowned river walk, the creation of significant new public spaces and compatible mixed0use infill at varying scales. The result is a hub of vibrant urbanism defining the west end of River Street, integrally connected to Savannah’s National Historic Landmark District and the Savannah River. 

Tybee Island Butt-Free Beach – The City of Tybee Island implemented a smoke-free beach ordinance known as “Butt-Free Beach” in June 2022 following a pilot program and input from community members and groups that identified cigarette butts as a major source of beach litter. Since the ordinance passed, there has been a reported 80% decline in smoking-related litter, resulting in a substantially cleaner beach and swimming environment for all users of Tybee’s beaches, including marine creatures.  

Keep Golden Isles Beautiful – Keep Golden Isles Beautiful is a model community program of environmental stewardship, public education, diverse recycling initiatives, and litter control in this eco-sensitive and fragile area of the Georgia Coast that includes miles of marshland and waterways. This is a small but mighty organization whose work is never done and Glynn County is a much healthier and beautiful place because of Keep Golden Isles Beautiful. 

City of Savannah Fleet Electrification – The City of Savannah converted their parking enforcement fleet to EV and built the necessary chargers, as well as incorporating hybrid ferries into their water taxi routes and adopting electric transit busses.

Bryan County School System – Students at Bryan County Middle School not only learn about electric vehicles and how they relate to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) concepts in class, they work as teams to build electric vehicles in the classroom to gain hands-on skills that reinforce learning. Teams compete with other schools in driving and academic events. The program began with sponsorship by Coastal Electric Cooperative in 2020 with one vehicle and has grown to a dozen vehicles at the middle school with other schools in Bryan, Liberty, and Evans County joining the excitement.

North Atlanta Right Whale Protection – Georgia Conservancy is leading efforts and developing strategies to revive the population of Right Whales, particularly in calving grounds. By creating new marina signage and the installation of AIS beacons to alert boaters of the need to reduce vessel speeds during right whale calving season, Georgia Conservancy is saving the lives of the Georgia State marine mammal.

Re:Purpose Savannah – Re:Purpose Savannah is a women+ led nonprofit establishing a sustainable future through the deconstruction, salvage, and reuse of historic buildings. They focus on providing a climate-conscious alternative to conventional demolition that mitigates environmental and public health impacts and connecting best practices for structural removal with historic preservation of the diverse histories in the community, all while training women and other underrepresented people for careers in construction. 

Powering the Future: McIntosh Schools Solar Project – McIntosh County schools have installed solar panels at McIntosh County Middle School and Todd Grant Elementary School in Darien, GA, which generate renewable electricity that is sold back to the power grid, creating both an environmental and financial benefit for the community. By producing and contributing clean energy, the schools are actively supporting Georgia’s transition to sustainable power while also creating a new revenue stream for the district. 

Sustainable Fleetwood – Over the last two decades, the Housing Authority of Savannah invested in the redevelopment of Fellwood Homes, the first public housing community in Savannah, into Sustainable Fellwood, developed by Parallel Housing and operated by Woda Group. Sustainable Fellwood was the first LEED-certified project in Georgia, serving low income families and senior citizens and including sustainable features that result in lower operating costs and financial benefits to residents.

SeaPoint Industrial Terminal Complex – The SeaPoint Complex is the largest successful brownfield project in the state of Georgia’s history, attracting high wage jobs and direct investment in East Savannah from companies that share the core values of sustainability. The SeaPoint site hosts a 1MW solar array and 3 acre honeybee apiary and pollinator garden, a Savannah Tree foundation tree nursery, and the Cleantech Campus, an incubator for companies and organizations advancing transformative green technologies in manufacturing and logistics.