Portland Public Schools (PPS) announces that it has received the Silver 2012 Green Cleaning Award for Schools & Universities.

The purpose of the award is to recognize education institutions that have exemplary green-cleaning programs. Green cleaning simply means “cleaning to protect health without harming the environment.”

Award criteria are modeled on the second edition of The Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools, published by the Healthy Schools Campaign, a founding member of the Green Cleaning Network.  

The award  is open to all types and sizes of education institutions, both public and private, including preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, universities or colleges, trade or technical schools, and other types of schools (such as K-12, special education or therapeutic schools), as well as school districts.

The award seeks to recognize teams involved in implementing green-cleaning programs, which may include administrative and janitorial staff, outside contractors, vendors, and community and advocacy groups.

Submissions are judged by a panel representing school stakeholders, cleaning industry experts, green-cleaning consultants and school health advocates. 2012 judging criteria were based on the comprehensiveness and quality of the green-cleaning program, and how well each institution executed the steps, as outlined by The Quick and Easy Guide to Green Cleaning in Schools.

Honorees will receive an awards certificate, recognizing their achievement, and are profiled in the December issue of American School & University magazine.

In keeping with its focus on greener, healthier environments, PPS has also recently embarked upon a pilot program of Process Cleaning for Healthy Schools (PC4HS), and expects to have preliminary results soon.