Each year, C3E Ambassadors select the winners who are then recognized for their work at the C3E Symposium.
Nominations for the 2025 C3E Awards are now open!
Award Eligibility
What is the deadline for award nomination submissions?
The 2025 C3E Awards cycle is now open and will close on February 13, 2025. Follow @C3E_EnergyWomen or join our mailing list to receive updates.
Who may submit nominations?
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.
Self-nominations will also be accepted (requirement information below).
What are the criteria for nominees?
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). Individuals with more than 20 years of experience in clean energy are not eligible for the mid-career awards but may apply to be considered as a future C3E Ambassador;
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.
What information does a nominator need to submit?
Nominators will need to obtain the following information from their nominee:
Contact information for the nominee;
Contact information for 2 references (in addition to you) who can verify the information provided and have agreed to be contacted, if needed;
Total number of years of experience working in clean energy (which may be less than their total number of years of experience); and
A resume for the nominee (including dates for the nominee’s education and employment) in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. For educational background, include the title and year of any degree(s) (if applicable) and/or relevant specialized training. The resume must be current and clearly demonstrate how the nominee has met the specialized experience and accomplishments described in their nomination. Please limit resumes to two pages.
To submit a nomination, nominators will also need to:
Certify that the nominee has agreed to be nominated and can be contacted.
Certify that the nominee is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.
Certify that they know the nominee’s accomplishments and capabilities first-hand.
Select one of eight award categories. See the category list below. If you are not sure which category your nominee is best suited for, select the category where you think they fit best and the nomination review team may decide to move the nominee to a different category.
Describe (in 300 words or less) why you believe the nominee is at a mid-career stage of their profession and how winning this award would help the nominee in their career path. Mid-career is generally defined as an individual with expertise beyond entry level but with significant opportunities to grow before the end of one’s career.
The C3E Awards are intended to contribute to advancing the careers of Awardees into more senior leadership and executive-level positions. Preference for this award will be given to candidates whose career could benefit from receiving this award.
Describe the nominee’s accomplishments (300 words or less) and leadership qualities (300 words or less); provide additional background information that would be useful during the nomination reviews (optional) (300 words or less).
Tailor the nomination to the category selected (one category per nominee only), and answer the questions in the nomination guidance template.
What information will a nominee need to submit?
After a nomination is submitted, nominees will be emailed and asked to submit the following information no later than February 20, 2025 at 11:59pm PT:
An essay that describes (in 200 words or less) how winning this award will help the nominee and support their career advancement.
The city and state where the nominee is currently based. In situations where a nominee maintains a headquarters or home office location but spends a majority of their time working in other locations (e.g. work conducted abroad), please include both locations.
What is required for a self-nomination?
If you are submitting a self-nomination, in addition to the information listed in the two previous questions, you will also be asked to provide the name and contact information for an endorser. An endorser must be a current or former supervisor or peer who has agreed to be contacted and can speak to your accomplishments and be able to articulate why you should win a C3E Award. We strongly suggest that you notify your endorser in advance, so they know to look for an email from nominations@c3e.org. After a self-nomination is submitted, endorsers will be emailed and asked to submit the following information no later than February 20, 2025 at 11:59pm PT:
An essay that describes (in 200 words or less) the candidate’s impact in clean energy and why they should win a C3E Award.
Award Categories
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.
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 educators who have helped to inspire future generations to pursue careers in clean energy. This includes teaching at the K-12, technical or vocational schools, or other education-focused organizations.
Entrepreneurship and/or Commercialization: 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 and Investment: 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 for banks, investment firms, companies, academia, government or industry associations.
Fundamental and Applied Research: 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.
Government: This award recognizes local, state, or federal government employees (e.g., civil servants or regulators) who have advanced programs 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.
Policy and Advocacy: This award recognizes clean energy advocates and policy workers who have driven a greater uptake of clean energy policies, regulations, incentives, and/or technologies in society. Individuals could be working for nongovernmental organizations, not including political advocacy groups and for-profit lobbyists.