Advanced BioFuels USA

(Clean Energy Education and Empowerment) Do you know a mid-career woman who is a rising leader in the clean energy sector?  Please nominate her for a 2023 C3E Award! The Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Awards recognize mid-career women who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and accomplishments in the clean energy sector. Each winner receives a monetary award and national recognition. Winners of the 12^th annual C3E Awards will be announced at the C3E Women in Clean Energy Symposium in the fall of 2023.

C3E Ambassadors select the winners, and these remarkable Awardees are recognized for their work at the C3E Symposium each year. See below for award eligibility.

Nominations may be submitted by employers, universities, professional societies, membership organizations, associations, community groups, or individuals on behalf of outstanding mid-career women in clean energy. Nominators should know the accomplishments and capabilities of their nominee first-hand. Nominators of the award winners are invited to the annual C3E Symposium.

New this year: Self-nominations will be accepted (requirement information below).

Nominees should have a record of significant accomplishments; leadership qualities and other relevant attributes; and mentorship of women and girls. They should also be in good standing in their field and communities. In addition, nominees will:

• Be outstanding mid-career professionals with a minimum of five years of experience in clean energy. Nominees typically have 10-15 years of professional experience (excluding time spent in degree programs), but that is not a hard-and-fast rule;

• Use their talents to advance clean energy sources, technologies, practices, and policies, such as efforts to increase clean sources of energy or reduce energy use, energy-related environmental impacts, or energy system costs;

• Have made a compelling impact in their fields—working within a company, team, university, government agency, non-government organization, professional community, or as an individual;

• Have accomplishments sufficient to merit national recognition;

• Be emerging leaders with a demonstrated, strong commitment to advancing clean energy in their areas of work/expertise/experience;

• Be inclusive leaders who have helped to mentor women and develop future leaders in their professions, avocations, or communities; and

• Be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Federal, state, and local government employees are eligible, including employees of the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Laboratories. If it is not clear whether someone is mid-career, please contact us at nominations@c3e.org to discuss, and we will make the determination.

The C3E Awards for outstanding leadership and extraordinary achievement are given in the categories described below. The Awards are intended to spotlight mid-career women who have professional experience working in clean energy. Please read the descriptions of all the categories and select the one that best describes the nominee’s work area. The nomination should be tailored to the category selected, and only one nomination in one category should be provided. New this year: Even though there are ten different categories, only eight C3E awards will be given. An award will not be given in all ten categories.

• Advocacy: This award recognizes clean energy advocates, for example through nongovernmental organizations, who have driven greater uptake of clean energy policies and technologies in society (political advocacy groups and for-profit lobbyists excluded).

• Business: This award recognizes leaders within private entities of any size, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. Strong candidates will have accelerated or expanded the adoption of clean energy within their own business footprints or portfolios.

• Education: This award recognizes educators who have helped to increase clean energy knowledge and/or to inspire future generations to pursue careers in clean energy. This includes teaching at the K‐12, technical or vocational schools, universities or other education-focused organizations.

• Entrepreneurship: This award recognizes entrepreneurs who have developed and demonstrated innovative clean energy technologies or business models that have the potential to drive market transformation toward clean energy.

• Finance: This award recognizes finance professionals who have advanced the development or scaling of innovative financing structures, business models, capital markets or investment products that have resulted in increased financing of clean energy technologies. Individuals could be working in banks, investment firms, companies, academia, government or industry associations.

• Government: This award recognizes local, state, or federal government employees (e.g., civil servants, regulators, or elected officials) who have advanced policies, regulations, or incentives to support the development, deployment, and diffusion of clean energy.

• International: This award recognizes individuals who have developed and/or deployed clean energy products and services that increase access, promote efficiency, and expand clean energy around the world.

• Law: This award recognizes lawyers, academics, or other legal professionals working in law to advance energy efficiency and clean energy uptake and enable regulatory structures designed to incentivize and support clean energy.

• Social, Economic, & Policy Innovation: This award recognizes scientists, researchers, and practitioners working at universities, national labs, or in industry who are researching and analyzing how technologies, economics, public policy, equity, and decision-making interact to affect the adoption of clean energy systems. Relevant research fields include but are not limited to applied research in humanities, social, economic, and behavioral sciences.

• Technology Research & Innovation: This award recognizes scientists and researchers working at universities, national labs, or in industry who are researching and developing advanced innovative clean energy technologies with the potential for demonstrable and scalable impact. Relevant research fields include but are not limited to engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biophysics, cyber, nuclear, environmental and marine sciences, geothermal earth sciences, agricultural sciences, and material sciences.  READ MORE