Renew America, an organization promoting environmental solutions, coordinates the annual awards. The winners are selected by the National Awards Council for Environmental Sustainability, a coalition of 60 environmental, community, government and business organizations. ORNL's program received a certificate of Environmental Achievement, recognizing its outstanding contributions to environmental sustainability.
The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program was established at ORNL in 1978 to assist DOE and other government agencies in advancing worldwide energy efficiency and increasing the utilization of renewable resources. The program works on technologies for efficient buildings, industrial processes, electric utilities and technology transfer.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the Department of Energy's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, which also manages the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant.