Whether your facility is applying for the first time or has been for years, you will find the details on how to access the awards platform, critical awards cycle timelines, descriptions of the different applications, and how they are scored.
Where to find the applications
The Environmental Excellence Awards are hosted on a separate website that requires a unique username and password. You can access the awards platform at platform.practicegreenhealth.org. If you need help setting up an account, contact us at awards@practicegreenhealth.org.
For your data's security, we use a two-factor authentication system on our platform. If you are not receiving the email with your authorization code, please check your spam folder first.
When the awards cycle occurs
The Partner for Change Application captures data on sustainability performance for the calendar year. It opens in November and is due the following April.
For the 2025 awards cycle, applications will open on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, and will be due on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. We aim to notify winners on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Please note that because CleanMed 2025 will be held earlier than in previous years (May 6-8, 2025), we will not be able to notify winners before CleanMed.
Introduction to the 2025 Environmental Excellence Awards
About the Partner for Change application
To mobilize our partners against climate change, the greatest threat to public health, we have updated the requirements for the Partner for Change application for the 2025 awards cycle. Please see the 2025 program changes for more details.
What types of facilities can apply?
Practice Greenhealth benchmarks three categories of facilities based on whether they have overnight (staffed) beds or operating rooms.
- Facility type 1: Facilities with overnight beds and operating rooms. Most Practice Greenhealth applicants fall into this category.
- Facility type 2: Facilities without operating rooms. This category includes long-term care facilities, psychiatric facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and skilled nursing facilities.
- Facility type 3: Facilities without overnight beds. These outpatient facilities may or may not have operating rooms.
When we set up your account on the platform, we will indicate your facility type so that when you start a Partner for Change application, you will be in the correct application. No action is needed on your part.
How does scoring work?
Because there is no “right way” to do sustainability in health care, Practice Greenhealth’s scoring methodology for the Partner for Change Awards accounts for the many different paths that sustainability programs can take toward mature and impactful programs.
Each page (Climate, Leadership, Sustainable procurement, etc.) on the application is scored using four frameworks:
- Auto score: Every question on the page is assigned a point value, with more impactful actions worth more points. For example, on the Green Building page, proactive policies that reduce waste generated in the first place earn more points than construction and demolition waste recycling. Reviewers can remove auto score points for irrelevant documentation, unrelated responses, or incorrect data.
- Metric score: Points are assigned based on key metrics using a sliding scale. For example, Energy Use Intensity (EUI) is calculated by dividing total energy use by total square footage. A lower EUI earns more points. If the maximum score for a facility’s EUI is 175 points, an EUI of 130 kBtus/sf would score more than an EUI of 300 kBtus/sf.
- Quality score: Reviewers assign a score of zero to three for subjective questions (essays, attachments, etc.), with zero for unrelated answers and three for complete, concise answers that include processes and outcomes. The quality score is calculated by dividing the points earned by the total possible points on the page.
- Innovation points: Reviewers can assign innovation points, or bonus points, for truly forward-thinking or extraordinary actions or outcomes.
These four scores are weighted and combined to generate a total page score, which determines Circles of Excellence winners and contributes to the overall application score.
About the Health System Climate application
For the 2025 awards cycle, Practice Greenhealth is trialing a new Health System Climate application, aimed at collecting climate data from health systems. While the Partner for Change application is well-suited for reflecting progress at a facility-level, it is not designed to capture the work of sustainability programs governed within a health system. This trial application is a step toward celebrating and acknowledging the important work that happens at the system-level.
The Health System Climate application is similar to the Climate page of the Partner for Change application - it collects greenhouse gas emissions data, and asks questions about system-level climate goals, policy, and resilience work that helps Practice Greenhealth measure progress. While the System for Change award is contingent upon the percentage of a system's hospitals that win a Partner for Change award, the Health Systems Climate application is separate and will not be connected to the Partner for Change application.
Because this is a trial, we will not be giving any awards for this application in 2025. If enough systems participate, we will aggregate the data and provide applicants with a benchmark report. We invite you to participate this year and provide feedback on additional data that you would like to see included to help shape the future of this offering.
About the System for Change application
The System for Change Award recognizes health systems that work cohesively to set system-wide sustainability goals, track data, benchmark, and share successes in environmental performance.
All hospitals within the health system must be current Practice Greenhealth members in good standing, with a minimum of four facilities.
A minimum percentage of the health system’s facilities must apply using the Partner for Change applications and achieve recognition in the same award cycle for the health system to qualify for this award. The percentage varies by health system size, as shown below.
| Number of hospitals in the health system | Percent of facilities that achieve recognition through the Partner for Change application |
|---|---|
| 4-6 facilities | 100% |
| 6-10 facilities | 90% |
| 11-25 facilities | 70% |
| 26-50 facilities | 50% |
| 51-70 facilities | 40% |
| More than 70 facilities | 30% |
Hospitals within the system that do not submit an award application will still count toward the total facility count.
Health systems that complete and submit the System for Change application are eligible to win the System for Change Award.
About the Making Medicine Mercury-Free application
The Making Medicine Mercury-Free application evaluates whether a facility has virtually eliminated mercury and committed to remaining “mercury-free.” To receive the award, the facility must attach all requested policies and provide documentation. This award can only be received once. We want partners to know that while it will be offered in 2025, we are evaluating it and expect to make changes in the near future.
- A facility cannot receive the mercury award if it crushes fluorescent lamps onsite. Practice Greenhealth recognizes that some mercury may still be present in facilities, such as in fluorescent lamps or in capital equipment like boiler switches and relays.
- While these sources do not disqualify an applicant, the facility must demonstrate that these sources are labeled or handled appropriately upon disposal.
- Similarly, minor sources of mercury in the pharmacy or lab must be identified and managed appropriately until they can be replaced.
