The 2026 Planet Positive Awards, presented by METROPOLIS, has announced its esteemed jurors, who will be honoring excellence in sustainable design. The awards program is the largest of its kind, focusing on sustainability, health, and well-being in the built environment.
With over 50 categories, the 2026 Planet Positive Awards celebrate progress towards a more sustainable and equitable future. Project entries will be judged on their ability to mitigate environmental impact, advance social equity, and integrate beauty, function, and community value.
Meet the Jurors
The jurors for this year’s awards include leading experts from academia, nonprofits, and sustainability leadership. They will be reviewing project entries and selecting winners based on their innovation, contribution to health and equity, and use of sustainable materials and processes.
Some of the notable jurors include Melissa Berardi, Director of CBRE Project Management’s Building Sustainability Consulting team, and Beatrice Galilee, Co-founder and Executive Director of The World Around. Other jurors include Kelly Moynihan, Principal at Nurture, and Ken Potts, Architect and Senior Project Manager at Mayo Clinic.
Yakuh Askew, Founder of Y.A. studio, and Kristen Dotson, Principal of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, will also be joining the jury. Felix Heisel, Director of the Circular Construction Lab at Cornell University, and Kyle Pickett, Senior Project Manager at USGBC California, round out the list of jurors.
Expertise and Experience
Melissa Berardi is a director for CBRE Project Management’s Building Sustainability Consulting team, where she leads ESG strategy development and manages third-party certification processes across North America. Beatrice Galilee is an internationally recognized architecture curator, author and design advisor. She is founder and executive director of The World Around, a New York-based nonprofit platform dedicated to visionary global design and architecture. Kelly Moynihan serves as a Principal at Nurture, a design leader that pursues the preservation and creation of carbon-free, equitable, high-performance projects.
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The jurors will be reviewing entries from various categories, including projects, products, innovation, and people. They will be looking for entries that demonstrate a commitment to designing architecture in harmony with the environment and promoting health and well-being in the built environment.
Awards Program
The 2026 Planet Positive Awards will celebrate the meaningful progress being made towards a more sustainable and equitable future. The awards program is an opportunity for designers, architects, and industry professionals to showcase their work and contribute to a better future.
Entries for the awards are now open, and the winners will be announced later this year. The awards program is a chance for the industry to come together and recognize excellence in sustainable design.
As they review the entries, the jurors will be looking for projects and products that not only mitigate environmental impact but also advance social equity and integrate beauty, function, and community value. The winners of the 2026 Planet Positive Awards will be setting a new standard for sustainable design and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.
It is a chance for the industry to promote sustainability and health in the built environment.