September 02, 2010

Sponsored by American School & University, The Green Cleaning Network and the Healthy Schools Campaign.

About the Green Cleaning Award

Created in conjunction with the Green Cleaning Network and Healthy Schools Campaign, American School & University's Green Cleaning Award recognizes education institutions for their healthy and sustainable approaches to cleaning to protect health without harming the environment.

2010 Awards

Interested in entering your school in the 2010 Green Cleaning Award competition? Download the 2010 application.

Click here to read more on eligibility, judging criteria and the awards process.

2009 Green Cleaning Award Winners

Like most other departments in education institutions, the maintenance department often is challenged to do more with less. This year's entrants of the 2009 Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities have shown that they are doing just that — and making a positive impact on the environment as well.

The entries were diverse: some were in their first few years of green-cleaning programs; others had been going green for more than a decade. They all had one thing in common: green cleaning was a priority in their everyday jobs.

In this special awards program, an expert jury of green-cleaning professionals (see Meet the Jury) chose seven education institutions whose green-cleaning programs went above and beyond just using green products to protect health without harming the environment. The jury named two Grand Award winners in the school district category and one Grand Award winner in the higher-education category. It also gave one Honorable Mention in each category. A new category this year, Best New Program, recognizes those programs that are just getting off the ground, but in a commendable way.

Judging criteria were based on the comprehensiveness and quality of the program, and how well each education institution followed the following five steps, as outlined in the second edition of The Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools:

Use green-cleaning products.
Use green equipment and supplies.
Adopt green-cleaning procedures.
Use green paper and plastic products.
Share the responsibility.

The seven winners showcased in the following articles show how much one education institution, district or campus can accomplish — often in a short amount of time.

2009 School Districts Winners

Grand Award: Blackhawk Intermediate School, Beaver Falls, Pa.
Grand Award: Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Md.
Honorable Mention: East Meadow Union Free School District, Westbury, N.Y.
Best New Program: LaPorte Community School Corporation, LaPorte, Ind.

2009 Higher Education Winners

Grand Award: Western Washington University, Bellingham, Wash.
Honorable Mention: University of Georgia, Athens
Best New Program: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.

The Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities is sponsored by American School & University; the Green Cleaning Network, a non-profit clearinghouse that shares information and educates the marketplace in order to accelerate the adoption of green cleaning; and the Healthy Schools Campaign, a non-profit that advocates for policies and model programs that enable students and staff members to learn and work in a healthful school environment.