Environmental Excellence Awards applications

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Validate your hard work and continue making the business case for sustainable operations by participating in the Environmental Excellence Awards program, which is how Practice Greenhealth collects data to help hospitals measure their sustainability performance.

 

Partner facilities use the awards application and benchmark report results to:

 

Develop their sustainability baseline, benchmark, and compare performance
Identify key areas of opportunity
Earn recognition for their sustainability program

 

Applications are due April 10, 2024. 


Awards platform

 

Awards tools and resources 

Practice Greenhealth provides a range of tools and resources to support partners in sharing their performance.

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Frequently asked questions 

Please consult these questions below and/or reach out to your strategy manager for additional guidance.

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Do I have to be a partner to apply for an Environmental Excellence Award? 

Yes, you must be a partner in good standing to apply for or submit an Environmental Excellence award application. To check if your organization is already a partner of Practice Greenhealth, email join@practicegreenhealth.org or call 888-508-0198.

What is the deadline for completing the awards application?

The awards submission deadline is April 10, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PST.


No extensions will be granted. Please ensure all applications are submitted before the time on the appropriate day.

Are there any browser requirements to access the online awards portal or to complete the award application?

You may use all modern web browsers that meet standard security settings. Use this resource to check which browser you are using.

How do I log in to begin the application process?

  1. Go to platform.practicegreenhealth.org.
  2. To log in, click the “User Login” button in the upper right corner of the screen.
  3. Enter user name (primary email) and password, and you will arrive at your organizational dashboard.
  4. If you have forgotten your password, on the login page, click on the tab that says “Request New Password,” enter your current email address and then click “Email New Password.” You will then receive an email with a unique, one-time hyperlink that will allow you to confirm your email and set up your password. 
     

I see a message that says my email is not recognized as a username or an email address. What should I do?

There can be several reasons for this. Contact awards@practicegreenhealth.org or 888-378-2259. Our help desk will assist you in setting up an awards account. 

I logged in but now see a request for a 6-digit code. Now what?

As part of cybersecurity upgrades, the awards platform now utilizes multi-factor authentication to log on. All users will be required to enter the following information after their username and password:

  • Check your email for the 6-digit verification code and hit submit. You will then arrive at your organizational dashboard.
  • Click on any organization (an orange arrow should appear next to each facility) on your dashboard to get started.

I’m having trouble creating an account, who should I contact?

For assistance in setting up an awards account, please contact awards@practicegreenhealth.org or call 888-378-2259.

What is the first step once I am logged in to the account and see the dashboard?

  1. If you are a first-time applicant, before starting an application, the system will require you to click the “Verify Business Unit Type” button, select the appropriate type of facility, and click the “Save” button at the bottom.
  2. Then you will be returned to the dashboard screen. 
  3. Click on “Start a New Application” and select the appropriate application. 

Important: It may take a few minutes for the initial creation of a new application. Please be patient.

I am not seeing the dashboard view or login screen. Am I in the wrong place?

Please ensure you have the Practice Greenhealth online awards application portal url in your browser: https://platform.practicegreenhealth.org

How do I submit my application?

To submit an application, the first step you will need to take is to click the “Review This Application” button in the upper righthand corner (located above the application page).

This link will take you to the review page, which will cycle through each section of the application and let you know if you have:

  • Empty data fields
  • Validation errors (e.g. data entered in the wrong format)
  • Unusual or invalid numerical data (this can be an indication of improperly entered data)
  • Missing required data fields

Each of these can be checked by clicking on the corresponding question or page link. 


None of these warnings will prevent you from submitting the application except required fields, but do pay attention as you may lose points for not entering data or entering it correctly.

When all required fields have been entered, you will see a “Submit to Practice Greenhealth” button at the bottom of the screen. After clicking it, you will receive an email confirming your application has been received.

Note: Some health systems require affiliates to submit the application to corporate for review (Submit to Health System) before submission. Please be sure to Submit to Practice Greenhealth for final submission.

I want to invite other members of my team to add responses or data to the application. How do I do this?

Once you are logged in and on your dashboard, you can add additional users if you are an admin-level user. Additional users are typically departmental leads or topic experts that can assist you in completing one or more sections of the application. 

  1. Click the white “Add User” button.
  2. Enter the person’s name, title, phone, and email address.
  3. Then click the green “Add user” button.

This person will receive an email with directions for setting up a unique password so they can access the organizational dashboard and navigate the application. 

Important: You will need to tell them in advance what to expect and ask them to complete the questions or category pages that are in their area of expertise. For instance, a facility manager might be asked to click on the icon with the red plug (Energy) or blue raindrop (Water) in the navigation bar at the top of the page.

Can my vendor input data into the application?

Yes. Invite your vendor contact as a user using the directions above.

I collect all of my facility’s waste, water, and energy data using a dashboard provider. Are you able to import my data into the application?

Yes. Practice Greenhealth has already partnered with several sustainability dashboard providers to import data into award applications. Contact Lara Sutherland at lsutherland@practicegreenhealth.org for more information on setting up an import. We ask that you try and reach Lara before March 15 if possible if you intend to use the import feature.

Our organization’s footprint changed this year because we added/removed a building. How should we handle this within the award application?

Campus scope is an important aspect of how Practice Greenhealth benchmarks data. It can depend on when the building went online/offline. We typically ask that revised square footage is noted in the energy/water square footage table. Reach out to your member engagement liaison as a starting point or contact awards technical assistance (awards@practicegreenhealth.org) for further clarification.

We have health system-level data but are having difficulty breaking it down to facility-level data. Can we just divide the total by the number of hospitals in the system?

No. This will not provide accurate data and can significantly affect benchmarking accuracy. If it is impossible to get facility-specific data, divide the data proportionally based on the size of the facility. Consider what demographic number would be the most appropriate. For example, if this is for cost of televisions in patient rooms, proportion to each hospital by number of beds. If this is for cost of staff computers, proportion by FTEs. If this is for refrigerant emissions, proportion by square feet. Please work with your sustainability strategy manager or contact awards@practicegreenhealth.org or 888-378-2259 for assistance in developing an appropriate estimation protocol.

I am a Veterans Health Administration partner, who can answer my questions?

Start by reaching out to your VISN mentor or email VAsupport@practicegreenhealth.org. You may also contact the Awards Technical Assistance hotline at 888-378-2259 with inquiries. 

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