2026 Business Awards Greensboro Companies Should Apply For

January 15, 2026

One of the best ways for Greensboro businesses to raise their local profile is to be nominated for and win an award from a local organization. If you’re interested in receiving one of Greensboro’s prestigious business awards, review our guide to the primary award opportunities in the city.

4 Awards Available to Greensboro Businesses

With awards from the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the Triad Business Journal, and the city of Greensboro’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience, businesses have a few different chances throughout the year to be nominated for awards. Find out more about the four primary small business awards in Greensboro below:

1. Greensboro Chamber of Commerce 2026 Small Business Awards

The Greensboro Chamber’s Small Business Awards celebrate the local companies and owners who help keep Greensboro growing, from creativity and entrepreneurship to real community impact.

Each year, the community nominates standout “business heroes,” before public voting and Chamber evaluation help spotlight winners and finalists. When businesses win, they’ll receive their award at the Small Business Awards event, receiving a heartfelt thank-you for their remarkable contributions to Greensboro. Find out more about each small business award a company can be nominated for below:

  • Mayor’s Committee Awards: These awards recognize employers and organizations that have successfully employed people with disabilities or helped build a barrier-free community in Greensboro. They’re presented through the Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities in partnership with the Chamber.
  • People’s Choice Award: This community-driven award allows nominees to earn extra recognition through public support and voting.
    Community Contributor Award: This award highlights an organization or individual that meaningfully supports Greensboro’s small business community, serving as an advocate, champion, and practical resource that helps others succeed.
  • Culture Creator Award: This recognition goes to a small business that intentionally builds an inclusive, equitable workplace culture and invests in employee well-being and development, proving that a strong culture isn’t only for big companies.
  • Ignition Award: This award spotlights an early-stage business that is already gaining momentum and contributing to the local economy. To be eligible, a business needs to have opened within the past three years.
  • Entrepreneur of the Year Award: This award recognizes a person or company whose entrepreneurial success has built a thriving, sustainable business and who continues contributing to Greensboro’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
  • Small Business of the Year Award: This prestigious business award recognizes a company that demonstrates both business success and civic leadership, with community involvement, management practices, and financial performance as primary criteria.
When Can You Be Nominated for a 2026 Small Business Award?

Nominations typically open early in the year, and community members can nominate eligible Greensboro small businesses that meet the Chamber’s criteria.

When Do Nominations Close for the 2026 Small Business Award?

Deadlines are not published yet for 2026, but recent cycles closed roughly 10–11 weeks before the awards date.

2. Live Green Awards

Over the past few years, the City of Greensboro’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience has recognized local sustainability leadership through its annual Live Green Awards. The program honors businesses, individuals, and community organizations whose work advances a healthier, more resilient Greensboro, with an emphasis on initiatives that are innovative, inclusive, and environmentally responsible.

Greensboro’s Community Sustainability Council, with support from the Office of Sustainability and Resilience, created the Live Green Awards Program in 2023 to celebrate sustainability leadership across the community. These awards include:

  • Energy Wise Award: The Energy Wise Award honors a standout commitment to energy progress in Greensboro, including renewable energy use, energy efficiency improvements, air pollution reductions, and other innovative energy practices.
  • Sustainability Champion Award: The Sustainability Champion Award recognizes leaders who spread sustainability awareness and literacy while also taking action to create a more sustainable Greensboro.
  • Waste Not Award: The Waste Not Award spotlights exceptional sustainable waste management, including recycling, composting, waste avoidance, responsible sourcing, and waste recovery.
  • In Touch With Nature Award: The In Touch With Nature Award honors environmental stewardship through natural resource conservation, tree and land preservation, native plants, and sustainable landscaping, with a focus on innovative, locally meaningful practices.
  • Unity in Sustainability Award: The Unity in Sustainability Award recognizes sustainability leadership that centers diversity, equity, and resilience. It celebrates efforts that build inclusive environments, support marginalized communities, and develop socially just solutions to climate challenges.
When Can You Be Nominated for a Live Green Award?

Nominations open annually. For the 2026 Live Green Awards, the City accepted nominations from Nov. 3 through Dec. 5, 2025. Customers, neighbors, business partners, and other community members regularly nominate businesses for these awards.

When Do Nominations Close for the Live Green Awards?

For 2026, nominations closed Dec. 5, 2025. Deadlines can change each year, so check the current call for nominations.

3. Triad Business Journal Nominations

Triad Business Journal (TBJ) runs a slate of annual awards that spotlight standout companies and leaders across the Piedmont Triad, including Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point.

For Triad-area businesses, these programs can be a smart credibility boost, especially for recruiting, sales enablement, and local PR. Many of TBJ’s awards are built around measurable impact, like employee experience, growth over time, or demonstrated leadership, which gives winners and finalists a strong story to share. If you’re interested in receiving one, please review the following TBJ awards:

  • Best Places to Work 2026 (nominations due January 16, 2026): This program recognizes companies with strong employee satisfaction and workplace culture, and it’s typically supported by a confidential employee survey process.
  • HR Impact Awards (nominations due February 5, 2026): Honors top human resources leaders in the Triad, highlighting the people shaping workplace culture, talent strategy, and employee experience.
  • Leaders in Diversity – Company Awards (Nominations due February 6, 2026): Recognizes organizations excelling in diversity and inclusion practices, with a focus on meaningful efforts in the workplace and community.
  • Leaders in Diversity – Individual Awards (Nominations due February 6, 2026): Highlights individuals advancing diversity and inclusion through leadership and measurable influence in their workplaces and communities.
  • Triad C-Suite Awards (Nominations due March 2, 2026): Celebrates top executives, including CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, and CTOs, recognized for performance, innovation, and leadership.
  • Family Business Awards (Nominations due March 26, 2026): Spotlights family-owned businesses across the Triad and the long-term leadership and community footprint that often comes with multigenerational ownership.
  • Fast 50 Awards (Nominations due April 30, 2026): Recognizes high-growth companies in the Triad, typically emphasizing sustained growth over multiple years and the business discipline required to scale.
  • Triad Commercial Real Estate Awards – Best Projects (Nominations due July 6, 2026): Recognizes the Triad’s 50 fastest-growing private companies, ranked using growth over the past three years.
  • Triad Commercial Real Estate Awards – Rising Star Award (Nominations due July 6, 2026): Recognizes rising stars in the Triad’s commercial real estate industry.
When Can You Be Nominated for a Triad Business Journal Award?

Nomination windows open throughout the year, and most programs accept nominations from employers, peers, clients, and sometimes self-nominations.

When Do Nominations Close for Triad Business Journal Awards?

There’s no single cutoff. Each award has its own deadline, and in 2026, those deadlines run from January 16 through July 6.

4. NC Department of Labor Safety Awards

The N.C. Department of Labor (NCDOL) Safety Awards Program recognizes private firms and public agencies across North Carolina that achieve and maintain strong workplace safety records. The goal is to promote accident prevention and encourage employers and employees to maintain a safe, healthful workplace.

Winners are recognized at regional awards events co-sponsored by local groups like chambers of commerce. For Greensboro-area employers, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce partners with NCDOL every other year to host the local Safety Awards event, giving recipients a high-visibility moment to celebrate their safety performance with peers. The three awards provided by the program include:

  • Gold Award: Based on an employer’s DART rate (days away, restricted, or transferred), which reflects cases involving days away from work, restricted activity, or job transfer (using OSHA Form 300A).
  • Silver Award: Based on cases with days away from work only (also drawn from OSHA Form 300A), meaning incidents where an employee missed at least one full day of work (not including the day of injury).
  • Million-Hour Safety Awards: Given to organizations that accumulate one million employee hours with no injury or illness cases involving days away from work, with additional awards for each subsequent one million safe hours.
When Can You Apply for the NCDOL Safety Awards?

Applications open annually, with the NCDOL typically notifying employers when it’s time to submit (for 2026, NCDOL noted an email went out on January 9, 2026). Applications are due by February 15, 2026, and if you’d like to be notified about the awards going forward, join the NCDOL’s mailing list.

How to Apply for the NCDOL Safety Awards

Complete NCDOL’s online safety awards application, using your organization’s calendar year data and the requested incident-rate information.

NCDOL recommends reviewing the posted instructions and reference materials (including the rate chart) before submitting, and they encourage organizations to apply even if they don’t qualify, so they remain active in the program.

Apply for Small Business Awards in Greensboro

Interested in winning one of Greensboro’s awards for businesses? The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce is here to help. We’re proud to offer a number of programs that help entrepreneurs network, develop their skills, and foster talent at their company. The information and guidance provided at these programs can help you grow your name in Greensboro, putting you in a better position to receive an award.

Learn more about how the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce can support your business’s success. If you have any questions about our 2026 Greensboro Awards before we announce them, please contact us.

We know and grow Greensboro.