Announcing the 2026 Inspiring Sustainability Award Finalists
We're excited to announce the finalists for the 2026 Inspiring Sustainability Awards! For 16 years, this event has recognized individuals and organizations that have made a lasting impact on sustainability in our community and beyond.
This year, we received a wonderful group of public nominations highlighting people and organizations doing meaningful work to create a more sustainable, connected, and vibrant 7 Rivers Region.
This year marked a change in our nomination to winner selection process. From the public nominations, a committee narrowed down public nominations to select 5 finalists for 2026 based on this established guidance:
Contribution to community abundance: how the nominee's work builds a more vibrant future, and who it impacts.
Consistency and commitment to sustainability work: consideration for the length, consistency and/or commitment to sustainability work.
Mission Alignment: how the nominee's work relates to one or more of SI’s mission pillars: educating, connecting, advocating, and inspiring.
We are happy to announce 5 finalists for this year's awards event!
This year's winners will be announced live at our awards event on October 27th from 6-8 PM at the La Crosse Distilling Co., a past Inspiring Sustainability Award winner. Join us to celebrate and be reminded of all the work being done in our community to advance sustainability.
The Inspiring Sustainability Awards carries on a tradition that began in 2010 with Coulee Partners for Sustainability's Harvest Dinner. Since then, over 30 leaders and projects have been publicly recognized for their inspiring work. We look forward to celebrating this year's finalists and their incredible contributions to a more sustainable future.
Congrats to the finalists
You can read about the finalists below by clicking on their tile.
We hope you can join us to celebrate all of the finalists and hear the winners speak live. Advance purchase tickets are required for this event and go on sale September 21st.
