The City of Greensboro’s Community Sustainability Council (CSC), in partnership with the Office of Sustainability and Resilience (OSR), honored seven individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations with the second annual Live Green Awards, Saturday, April 20, during the City’s Earth Day celebration at Keeley Park.
The Live Green Awards honor locals who are making meaningful strides toward a more sustainable and resilient future. These ideals are recognized in the following categories: significant use of renewable energy sources, conservation of natural resources, sustainability awareness, recycling or waste avoidance, water conservation, and improved quality of life for all Greensboro residents.
“This year we had 40 nominations and making the decision on the winners was not easy,” said Robin Davis, a past Live Green Award winner who presented the honors. “All of those nominated are doing tremendous work in our community and we want to again say thank you for your commitment to making Greensboro more sustainable.”
2024 Live Green Award Winners
Energy Wise: Phase Change Solutions
Phase Change Solutions, headquartered in Greensboro, is a global leader in the development and supply of phase change materials used for temperature management across a range of industries. In 2023, its signature product, BioPCM, allowed the company to avoid using more than 18,000 metric tons of net plastics and more than 44,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) greenhouse gas emissions.
Friend of Sustainability: Deep Roots Market Cooperative
Downtown grocer Deep Roots promotes and teaches sustainable practices, buys from local farms, and prioritizes sustainable agriculture. It also provides public composting and recycling services.
In Touch With Nature: Nallah Muhammad and NC Open Spaces
Muhammad leads the nonprofit, Afro-Ag, which introduces farming to the underserved and communities of color. She teaches people of all ages how to grow great-tasting, healthy, and organic produce using sustainable techniques, including water conservation, mulching, composting, and natural fertilizers.
NC Open Spaces cultivates a parcel of land on the edge of downtown Greensboro that highlights the value of urban green spaces. The organization has planted more than 100 fruiting shrubs and trees, installed more than 30 community garden beds, and raises 11 honeybee hives on the property. It is a beacon of urban biodiversity on the Downtown Greenway and the largest public, urban orchard on the East Coast.
Quality of Life: Beth McKee-Huger
McKee-Huger has worked in the community on sustainable projects for more than 40 years, seeking food accessibility, advocating for housing affordability, disrupting health disparities, and advancing clean energy options. The founder of Mary’s House, a residential treatment center for unhoused women, she has also served as executive director for Habitat for Humanity of Greensboro and the Greensboro Housing Coalition. She finds new and innovative ways to raise funds, initiate programs for change, and facilitate critical conversations that result in community action for the benefit of those most in need.
Waste Not: A Simple Gesture
A Simple Gesture started the nation’s first food-sharing refrigeration program. The SHARE program cuts food waste in Guilford County Schools by providing a refrigerator where students place excess, unopened food from their cafeteria meals to share with other students. During the school year, the nonprofit estimates the program will keep more than one million pounds of food from the landfill, which saves 1,200 tons of CO2e and 115 gallons of water, and provides needed food for children.
Water Wise: Haw River Assembly
The nonprofit partnered with the City of Greensboro to place a litter trap in Barber Park that shows how trash harms local waterways. The group hosts clean-outs to remove litter, including Styrofoam and hard plastics, and collects data to educate the public and inform policy.
Learn more about the OSR at www.greensboro-nc.gov/OSR.
