Award descriptions and recipients
Submitting data to Practice Greenhealth through the Environmental Excellence Awards program demonstrates your commitment to making your health care operations more sustainable.
Our award winners represent a wide variety of facilities at different stages of their sustainability journeys, but they all have one thing in common – they are all working to continuously improve and strengthen their sustainability programs.
2026 award recipients
Access the full list of the 2026 award recipients.
Past award recipients
2025 award recipients
2024 award recipients
2023 award recipients
2022 award recipients
2021 award recipients
2020 award recipients
2019 award recipients
2018 award recipients
2017 award recipients
2016 award recipients
Practice Greenhealth offers the following awards to partners in celebration of their achievements in health care sustainability.
Greenhealth Top 25 Award
Practice Greenhealth’s highest honor for hospitals. This award is given to the highest scoring, and highest performing 25 applicants who submit Partner for Change applications for facilities. For 2026, Practice Greenhealth will use greenhouse gas emissions reduction from a baseline year as the indicator of high performance. Each year, the competition for this award increases as hospitals across the network continue to innovate.
NEW: Greenhealth Top Health System Award
Practice Greenhealth’s highest honor for Health Systems. This award is given to the top 5% of the highest scoring, and highest performing applicants who submit the Partner for Change - System applications. For 2026, Practice Greenhealth will use greenhouse gas emissions reduction from a baseline year as the indicator of high performance. This is the first year this award is offered as 2026 is the first year Practice Greenhealth has offered the Partner for Change - System application.
Greenhealth Leader Award
Previously called the Greenhealth Emerald Award, the Greenhealth Leader Award recognizes hospitals and systems from within Partner for Change applicants whose applications demonstrate robust and mature sustainability programs. This competitive award recognizes the next 20% of highest scoring applicants below the Top 25. To be eligible for this award, applicants must submit greenhouse gas emissions data (Scopes 1 and 2 and at least one category of Scope 3) and submit at least eight of the optional program pages for scoring.
Greenhealth Champion Award
Previously called the Partner for Change Award, the Greenhealth Champion Award celebrates health care facilities and systems championing the growth and development of their sustainability programs. To be eligible for this award, applicants must submit greenhouse gas emissions data (Scopes 1 and 2 and at least one category of Scope 3) and submit at least 5 of the optional program pages for scoring.
Greenhealth Recognition Award
Previously called the Partner Recognition Award, the Greenhealth Recognition Award celebrates health care facilities and systems that show a commitment to sustainability. To be eligible for this award, applicants only need to submit greenhouse gas emissions data (Scopes 1 and 2 and at least one category of Scope 3) and focus on the climate page of the application.
Circles of Excellence Award
The Circles of Excellence Award celebrates ten hospitals or health care systems who have not only earned an award for all-around sustainability achievement, but have been identified as the top scoring programs for each sustainability category. To be eligible for this award, applicants must demonstrate true leadership in the program area through advanced actions.
Greenhealth System for Change Award
The Greenhealth System for Change Award recognizes health systems that have embedded sustainability governance throughout their entire organization’s operations. To be eligible for this award, sustainability data that represents a percentage of the system’s health care facilities (depending on the size of the system) must be represented in Partner for Change applications that achieve recognition. Systems must also submit the System for Change application.
Note: 2026 is the last year that Practice Greenhealth will offer this award as we will be using the Partner for Change - System application to celebrate system-level governance in the future.
Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award
The Making Medicine Mercury-Free Award is a legacy award that recognizes hospitals that have virtually eliminated mercury from their operations and have the processes and procedures in place that enable them to be resilient should this toxic material accidentally re-enter their facilities, representing the work Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth championed at their founding. To be eligible for this award, applicants must submit the Making Medicine Mercury Free application. This award can only be won once.
Join Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals.
Who We Are
Practice Greenhealth is the leading sustainable health care organization, delivering environmental solutions to more than 1,500 hospitals and health systems in the United States and Canada. Partnership opportunities include hospitals, health systems, community health organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, government, academic institutions, and the health care value chain.