AUSTIN, Texas, June 3, 2026 /3BL/ – Tandem Global, a leading NGO working at the intersection of business and nature, announces the winners of its 2026 Tandem Global Awards during their annual conference held in Austin, Texas, on June 2-3. The Tandem Global Awards honor excellence in corporate conservation, with awardees representing national and international companies across a variety of industries.
The year’s top honors were awarded to Freeport-McMoRan, Cemex, and Matador Ranch and Cattle Company.
“Each year, we see corporate conservation move from ambition to execution in increasingly sophisticated ways,” said Margaret O’Gorman, Chief Executive Officer, Tandem Global. “This year’s awardees demonstrate that meaningful environmental progress is not only compatible with business performance but is being embedded into core strategy across sectors and geographies. We are proud to recognize organizations that are turning commitment into measurable, lasting impact.”
Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Freeport-McMoRan received this year’s Corporate Conservation Leadership Award, recognizing the company’s overall achievement in conservation and commends their corporate commitment to biodiversity, conservation education and alignment with global conservation objectives.
Employee Engagement Award
The Employee Engagement Award, given to Cemex, celebrates the exemplary contributions of one company’s employees towards their habitat and conservation education efforts.
Gold Program of the Year
The Gold Program of the Year Award, which honors the overall depth of one corporate conservation program certified by WHC Certification®, was awarded to Matador Ranch and Cattle Company for its work at the Beaverhead Ranch in Dillon, Montana.
Project Awards
In addition to these corporate and program-level awards, individual projects are recognized for excellence in each of the WHC Certification®, powered by Tandem Global, project themes. These award categories offer projects of all sizes the ability to compete for recognition.
Overall, this year’s most honored company was Ontario Power Generation, who received the following Tandem Global Project Awards: Invasive Species Project Award, Pollinators Project Award, Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award, and Wetlands and Water Bodies Project Award.
The following is a complete list of 2026 Tandem Global Award Winners:
Avian Project Award
Ashland, Former Landfill – GA, Brunswick, Georgia
Awareness and Community Engagement Project Award
General Motors, DMAX Ltd, Moraine, Ohio
Bats Project Award
Vulcan Materials Company, Durbin Quarry, Irwindale, California
Desert Project Award
Cemex, Atotonilco: Cerro Jardín + Xoyatla + Coayuca, Hidalgo, México
Forests Project Award
Grupo México, Área de Conservación Sierra La Elenita, Sonora, México
Formal Learning Project Award
Grifols Therapeutics, Clayton Facility, Clayton, North Carolina
Grasslands Project Award
Flint Hills Resources, Pine Bend, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Green Infrastructure Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan., Copper Queen Branch, Bisbee, Arizona
Invasive Species Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, OPG Nuclear Operations Darlington and Pickering, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Invasive Species Coordinated Approaches Project Award
BASF, Belvidere,, New Jersey
Land Conservation Agreements Project Award
Matador Ranch and Cattle Company, Beaverhead Ranch, Dillon, Montana
Landscaped Project Award
CalPortland, El Segundo Ready Mix Plant, El Segundo, California
Mammals Project Award
BP, Opportunity Ponds, Anaconda, Montana
Other Habitat Project Award
Vulcan Materials Company, Colton Conservation Bank, Colton, California
Other Species Project Award
Lundin Gold, Magnolia yantzazana, Fruta del Norte, Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador
Pollinators Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, R.H. Saunders Generating Station, Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Remediation Project Award
WM, Twin Creeks Landfill, Watford, Ontario, Canada
Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, OPG Nuclear Operations Darlington and Pickering, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Species of Concern Project Award
Freeport-McMoRan, NM Operations, Tyrone, New Mexico
Training Project Award
General Motors, Mogi das Cruzes, Warren, São Paulo, Brazil
Wetlands and Water Bodies Project Award
Ontario Power Generation, Wesleyville Site, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada
Tandem Global Corporate Conservation Leadership Award
Freeport-McMoRan
Tandem Global Employee Engagement Award
Cemex
Tandem Global Gold Program of the Year Award
Matador Ranch and Cattle Company
Award finalists and winners were chosen from WHC Certification applications submitted between January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025. Information on the award criteria can be found here.
About Tandem Global
Tandem Global (formerly Wildlife Habitat Council and World Environment Center), provides the know-how and the network to move business and the environment forward, together. Across sectors and at all levels of its 100+ member organizations, Tandem Global works to facilitate long-term and lasting impact on all aspects of our natural world. Tandem Global connects leading thinking with practical solutions that positively impact climate, nature, and water. From field operations to boardrooms and beyond, corporate leaders turn to Tandem Global for impact strategies and resilient solutions that can support a better future. Tandem Global is headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA, with locations across the U.S., in Latin America and Munich, Germany. For more information visit tandemglobal.org.