The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has named iFixit as the recipient of the 2026 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award for Building Green. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards which honors individuals, businesses, and other organizations for their commitment to preserving the state's natural resources.

The award for Building Green recognizes excellence in sustainable building design, construction, and land use.

iFixit, a global leader in electronics repair resources and advocacy, officially launched its East Coast operations in 2024 after investing $24.2 million in a newly redeveloped Chattanooga site. The facility achieved true net-zero energy operations for the full 2025 calendar year. By choosing adaptive reuse rather than new construction, the company dramatically reduced embodied carbon while reinvigorating an underserved area of Chattanooga.

Located in the historic Onion Bottom Station area, the project transformed a long-vacant, deteriorating 70,000-square-foot warehouse into a modern distribution hub powered by solar energy and geothermal systems. The extensive rehabilitation effort included replacing a failing roof, installing high-efficiency LED lighting, upgrading insulation, and drilling 16 geothermal wells reaching 400 feet deep to support a highly efficient heating and cooling system. Solar production at the site saved enough energy to roughly equal removing 66 gas-powered cars from the road for an entire year.

iFixit regularly opens its doors to the Chattanooga community for sustainability meetings, events, and education sessions, sharing its net-zero model as a replicable blueprint for organizations seeking to reduce environmental impact through facility design, operations, and mission alignment.

There are ten categories for the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards. Other recipients include:

· Agriculture and Forestry - Cumberland River Compact

· Clean Air and Transportation Solutions - Clarksville-Montgomery County School System

· Environmental Education and Outreach - Clearloop and Jackson-Madison County School System

· Energy and Renewable Resources - Memphis Light, Gas and Water

· Materials Management - Toyota Boshoku Tennessee LLC

· Natural Resources - Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful

· Pursuit of Excellence - OxyChem

· Sustainable Performance - Carlex Glass America, LLC

· Water Quality - Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency

The Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced at the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards event in September.

For more information on the recipients and the awards program, visit the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards website.