The Green School Award in Hong Kong: Development and impact in the school sector

The Hong Kong Green School Award (HKGSA) is a school award scheme hosted by the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) to encourage schools to promote environmental awareness and for students to develop an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Since its inception in 2000, the HKGSA has undergone several phases of development. Between 2000 to 2008 it took the form of a competition with 3 winning schools and 10 merit schools After an initial review in 2005, it was decided to change the 8th HKGSA from a competition format to a benchmarking process. The successfully accredited schools were given the title of Green School once they fulfilled certain requirements. Another major reform took place in the 12th HKGSA in 2013 to allow flexibility for schools to satisfy the requirements in phases by completing the accreditation to attain the gold award over a period of 3 years, the introduction of facilitators to act as mentors and the enforcing of a maximum validity period for the accreditation. This structure mirrored the sustainable schools program in Victoria, Australia. HKGSA has become a well-received accreditation scheme which can also act as a driving force to promote education for sustainable development in the school sector which in 2020 will be subsumed under the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE). This chapter describes the development of this initiative in Hong Kong, its framework, implementation, impact and future.