2022 Environmental Excellence Awards 

APPLICATIONS FOR 2022 WEDA ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 

Awards will be presented during the July 2022 WEDA Dredging Summit and Exposition in Houston, Texas, USA.

Applications should be submitted in PDF format by May 6, 2022, to Craig Vogt, Chair of WEDA’s Environmental Commission, at Craig@CraigVogt.com. 

IMPORTANT: REVISED CRITERIA for 2022

• Projects that did not receive the WEDA Environmental Excellence Award in the previous two years may be resubmitted.
• Attendance is expected at the 2022 Houston Summit and presentation of a technical paper is encouraged of all award applicants about the project by a project representative.

Objective

The 2022 WEDA Environmental Excellence Awards will recognize projects for their outstanding contribution to meeting the goals of the WEDA, which include:

To promote communication and understanding of environmental issues and stimulate new solutions associated with dredging and placement of dredged materials such that the projects, including navigation, environmental, and adaptation to climate change, are accomplished in an efficient manner, which meets internationally recognized environmental goals.

The 2022 Awards

Three Environmental Excellence Awards will be given, one for each of the following categories:

• DREDGING FOR NAVIGATION: The purpose is to create or maintain navigation channels;
• ENVIRONMENTAL DREDGING: Purpose is an environmental enhancement, i.e., remediation, wetland enhancement, restoration or creation, or any other dredging project whose primary objective is environmental in nature; and
• MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE: This category includes dredging or marine construction projects that exemplify and implement the WODA Statement on Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. The WODA Statement can be found on the WEDA website at https://www.westerndredging.org/index.php/awards/environmental-excellence-awards. For further explanation of this category, see the text box below.

Process and General Criteria

All three awards will be announced and presented during the WEDA Luncheon on July 26, 2022, at the WEDA Dredging Summit and Exposition in Houston, Texas, USA.

• Recognition will include a plaque, a press release, and a special highlight on the WEDA website.
• The awards will be for a project, and team members will be recognized. The preference is for all project team members to be WEDA members; however, to qualify, at least one of the project team members must be a WEDA member in good standing. 
• The project must be related to dredging or marine engineering, consistent with WEDA’s mission, which includes the beneficial use of dredged material.
• The project must not have been completed more than three years from the date of the award application for the Navigation and Environmental Dredging Categories and four years for the Climate Change Category. For longer-term projects, specific increments or phases must have been completed to be eligible for consideration.
• Projects can be resubmitted if they were not selected for the WEDA Environmental Excellence Award in the previous two years.
• Summaries of the Award-winning projects, as written in the applications, will be included in a press release and possibly in a newsletter or other electronic communication.
• All project applications will be included, as submitted, on the WEDA website, after the July 2022 Houston Dredging Summit. Submittal of an application grants permission to WEDA for these actions.
• Attendance is expected and presentation of a technical paper is encouraged of all award applicants about the project by a project representative at the WEDA July 2022 Houston Dredging Summit.
• Posters are required from all applicants. Please bring a poster (e.g., 24 inches by 36 inches or 50-60 cm by 70-80 cm) to illustrate the project to attendees at the Houston Dredging Summit. The intention is to enhance all attendees’ understanding of the projects, the project team, and the project accomplishments. Posters will be displayed in the foyer near the exhibit hall. If you want to keep the poster, please make arrangements to take it home with you.
• While projects will be awarded based upon their merits using the ranking criteria provided below, the WEDA Environmental Excellence Awards Review Team does appreciate an application that is well-formatted, easy to read, and explains how the project qualifies based on each ranking criterion.
• The WEDA Environmental Excellence Awards Review Team are members of WEDA’s Environmental Commission.

Project Ranking Criteria

• Environmental benefits (35 points)
• What are the environmental benefits?
• What unique environmental challenges were addressed?
• Were any mitigation measures adopted? If so, list the measures.
• Did the project incorporate the principles within the approaches of working with nature or engineering with nature?
• Innovation (20 points)
• How does this project show leadership and take steps beyond "traditional" environmental protection efforts?
• Did the project “break new ground” in addressing the environmental challenges?
• What methods, technologies, or approaches (including partnerships) were used?
• What sustainable approaches were applied?
• Economic benefits (15 points)
• Explain the implementation of cost-effective methods, procedures, or practices in terms of environmental protection efforts. Were there project efficiencies?  Was there any specific cost-saving or economic enhancement components of the project?
• What are the socio-economic aspects of the project, e.g., positive impacts on the quality of life to stakeholders?
• How does the project contribute to the economy?
• Transferability (15 points)
• Are the project characteristics and lessons learned transferable and can they be used by others addressing similar environmental issues?
• Outreach and Education (15 points)
• What education and/or outreach activities were undertaken?
• What mechanisms were used to involve the broad array of stakeholders? 

Applications

• Applications must be submitted in English.
• Applications should clearly identify the award category: Navigation Dredging, Environmental Dredging, or Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change.
• Important: Applications should be no longer than 6 pages total length (excluding cover page and pages of illustrations).
• Outline of application:
  • Cover page. Does not count towards page count.
  • Summary: project description: goals, objectives, accomplishments (one-page maximum). The Summary will be used in the press release.
  • List of project team members and their affiliations, including the project owner, the role of the team members, WEDA membership status, and the nominating entity.
  • Environmental benefits
  • Innovation
  • Economic benefits
  • Transferability
  • Outreach and education
  • Inclusion of project figures, diagrams, or photographs is encouraged (maximum of three pages). These pages do not count towards the page count.

2021 Virtual Dredging Summit Awards 

Click to read the WODA Statement on Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change

2019 Environmental Excellence Awards

Press Release: Winners Announced for the 2019 Environmental Excellence Awards 

In 2019, two awards were made: one for an environmental dredging project and one for Adaptation or Mitigation to Climate Change. These Awards were presented at the Dredging Summit & Expo '19 in Chicago, IL for projects and their team members that best meet the goals of WEDA's Environmental Commission: 

2018 Environmental Excellence Awards

Press Release: Winners Announced for the 2018 Environmental Excellence Awards 

In 2018, three awards were made: one for a navigation dredging project, one for an environmental dredging project and one for Adaptation or Mitigation to Climate Change. These Awards were presented at the Dredging Summit & Expo '18 in Norfolk, VA for projects and their team members that best meet the goals of WEDA's Environmental Commission: 

2017 Environmental Excellence Awards

Press Release: Winners Announced for the 2017 Environmental Excellence Awards 

In 2017, three awards were made: one for a navigation dredging project, one for an environmental dredging project and one for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. These Awards were presented at the Dredging Summit & Expo '17 in Vancouver for projects and their team members that best meet the goals of WEDA's Environmental Commission: 

2016 WODA Environmental Excellence Awards 

Press Release: Winners Announced for the 2016 Environmental Excellence Awards 

This year, The World Organization of Dredging Associations (WODA), during the gala dinner of its triennial international conference in Miami, proudly presented four Environmental Excellence Awards in two categories, Environmental Dredging and Dredging for Coastal Reinforcement. 

2015 Environmental Excellence Awards

Press Release: Winners Announced for the 2015 Environmental Excellence Awards | View Criteria

In 2015, two awards were made: one for a navigation dredging project and one for an environmental dredging project. These Awards were presented at the Dredging Summit & Expo in Houston for projects and their team members that best meet the goals of WEDA's Environmental Commission: 

Previous Environmental Excellence Awards

• Download the Press Releases, Award Citations & Winning Nominations
• 2013 Environmental Excellence Awards
• 2012 Environmental Excellence Awards
• 2011 Environmental Excellence Awards