Illinois Green's annual Limelight Celebration, recognizing the region’s top achievements and outstanding volunteers in sustainability, will be held on November 12, 2026 at the Union League Club of Chicago.

Limelight will bring together a diverse network of industry leaders working in the sustainability field. Join us as we honor and recognize the latest achievements in green building innovation, design, and technology.

Thursday, November 12, 2026

5:30 PM - 9:00 PM CT
Union League Club of Chicago

Register Today!

Emerald Awards Ceremony
Illinois Green's Emerald Awards, launched in 2008, recognizes outstanding individual or organizational achievement helping to put Illinois on a path to 100% net zero buildings by 2050. Each year, awardees are determined by the Illinois Green Alliance governing board and honor the industry influencers, advocates, and thought leadership advancing net zero design, technology, and policy. This year, the Emerald Award Ceremony will not only celebrate outstanding achievements in green building leadership across the state, but will also recognize the dedication of our fantastic volunteers.

2026 Individual Achievement Award

Dr. Anne Evens is this year’s Net Zero Hero honoree for individual leadership. Having spent more than 30 years helping shape Chicago’s building decarbonization movement. As CEO of Elevate, she has grown the organization from its origins as a project of the Center for Neighborhood Technology into a nationally recognized leader in building decarbonization. Under her leadership, Elevate partners across sectors to design and implement data-driven climate and energy programs that reduce energy burdens, accelerate decarbonization, and expand access to affordable housing and clean mobility, including creating equitable access to heat, cooling, power and water in communities across the country. 

2026 Organizational Achievement Award

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus will be honored as the 2026 recipient of the Organizational Emerald Award for their leadership in advancing regional collaboration on building decarbonization and sustainability. Founded in 1997 by then-Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and leaders of nine suburban municipal groups, the Caucus represents 275 cities, towns, and villages across the Chicago region. Through initiatives such as the Greenest Region Compact (GRC), it has created a framework for communities to set and implement coordinated environmental, economic, and social sustainability goals—and the GRC is the largest regional collaborative for municipalities in the country.

Limelight Raffle to Support Green Schools
Keep an eye out for more information about this year's Limelight Raffle! You'll have the opportunity to enter for your chance to win Illinois Green's signature e-bike! Funds raised during Limelight and the raffle help support education programming, including the Illinois Green Schools Project, a year-long sustainability initiative for K-12 schools state-wide. 

Thank you to our raffle sponsor:

Become a 2026 Limelight Sponsor!

Earn recognition at this signature event. Contact Sondra Morin, Development Manager, at smorin@illinoisgreenalliance.org to learn more and start the conversation!

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Nominate an Awardee

If you'd like to suggest a potential awardee our Board of Directors should consider, fill out the contact form. Awardee suggestions can be made at any time of the year. Awardees are selected by August 15 and recognized at our Emerald Awards Ceremony in September.

Have a recommendation for consideration?

Submit the green building leader, company, or organization here:

Contact Us

2023 Emerald Award Recipient

Sarah Elizabeth Ippel

Illinois Green’s 2023 Emerald Award for Individual Achievement is Sarah Elizabeth Ippel, Founder and Executive Director of the Academy for Global Citizenship, and CEO of Cultivate Collective.


Her uncompromising 20-year commitment to sustainable communities is reflected as a leader in the education and community revitalization fields. While the recently completed Cultivate Collective hub that houses the Academy for Global Citizenship on Chicago’s Southwest side, championed by Ippel, serves as a first-of-its kind net zero project, it is just the most recent example of her long-standing commitment to reflect the environmental values of the school in the physical design of the building. Throughout her career she has leveraged her experience from one project to the next, each time raising the bar for what can be accomplished.

“I am inspired by the way she brings the sustainability components of the buildings as an opportunity to influence the educational curriculum, improve the health and wellness of the community and engage the community in the process,” said John Mlade, Illinois Green Alliance’s Board Chair.

For her work, Ippel was named one of Monocle’s Top 20 International Pioneers in Education and visited the White House to receive a national award from the Obama administration in 2011. Forbes named her one of the nation's “top five game changers in education” and was the recipient of the GOOD 100 list of “people pushing the world forward through doing.” In June 2022, Crain's Chicago Business recognized Ippel as one of their “notable leaders in sustainability.”