Cox Conserves Heroes
Cox Conserves Heroes is part of Cox Enterprises’ national sustainability initiative, designed to recognize youth and adult volunteers, plus nonprofits, making a positive impact on our environment.
The Heroes are actively reducing or reusing carbon/energy and water, or are minimizing waste sent to landfills in line with our company’s own sustainability goals.
Our 2025 Cox Conserves Heroes
We’re excited to share our top three environmental enthusiasts, each earning $30,000 from the James M. Cox Foundation to continue growing the good in their communities. Congratulations to Eric Grace, Isaac Nelson and The Plastic Ocean Project.
Eric Grace
Eric Grace (right) received the Groundbreaker award in the adult category. As the founder of the Creek Cleanup Project, Eric has spent the past eight years organizing volunteers to remove over 500,000 pounds of litter and 20,000 tires from Conococheague Creek along 93 miles in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Through this grassroots initiative, he is helping restore waterways and build environmental pride — one cleanup at a time.
Isaac Nelson
Isaac Nelson (left) is this year’s Planet Protector and winner of the youth category. Isaac is a middle school student from Florida who started Eco Scouts to encourage his classmates to protect local coastal environments. Through Eco Scouts, Isaac organizes activities that include restoring coral reefs and mangroves, testing water quality and cleaning up local beaches. He also distributes oyster mats made without plastic and helps educate other students by creating films, podcasts and hands-on projects focused on caring for coastal ecosystems.
The Plastic Ocean Project
The Plastic Ocean Project received the Jim Kennedy Conservation Award, named in honor of Cox Enterprises Chairman Emeritus and James M. Cox Foundation Chairman Jim Kennedy, an environmentalist who started Cox Conserves in 2007. The organization, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a youth-led nonprofit committed to finding science-based solutions to the global plastic pollution crisis.
Through research, education and outreach, The Plastic Ocean Project empowers individuals to make informed choices that benefit both human and environmental health. Its hands-on initiatives include trash cleanups and a unique reforestation effort — planting one tree for every 25 pounds of trash collected.
A Commitment to Sustainability
Cox Conserves has been instrumental in driving meaningful progress toward environmental change. We will continue to set new benchmarks in corporate sustainability as part of our ongoing journey to become a more sustainable company through our operations, partnerships and grants to nonprofits.
Criteria + Eligibility
We want to honor volunteers and nonprofits who are actively working to make progress in environmental sustainability while inspiring others to do the same.
To be eligible, nominees must be positively impacting the planet in all of the following areas:
Individuals of all ages are eligible to be nominated.* For the full list of requirements, please see our FAQ page.
*Nominees who are minors (under age 18) must have a parent or legal guardian’s (“parent”) permission in order to be nominated and parents will be required to sign a permission form.
What Your Nominee Could Win
Annually, the program awards a total of $150,000 from the James M. Cox Foundation to nine non-profits selected by the program’s winners. The program includes three first place grants, three second place grants, and three third place grants. The winner of the nonprofit category receives the Jim Kennedy Conservation Award in honor of Mr. Kennedy, chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises, chairman of the James M. Cox Foundation, and an environmentalist who started the Cox Conserves sustainability program in 2007.
