Center for Green Schools Announces 2025 Best of Green Schools

The annual awards recognize the best buildings, people, school districts, businesses, and lawmakers working to implement sustainability in schools.   March 14, 2025


By Greg Zimmerman, senior contributing editor


At the annual Green Schools Conference recently in Orlando, The Center for Green Schools and the Green Schools National Network announced this year’s winners for the annual Best of Green Schools Awards. The awards recognize buildings, people, campuses, and more for exceptional work in the field of sustainable school facilities.  

This year’s awards included the Denver Public School System, a cover-story subject of Building Operating Management in 2023 detailing its net-zero enegy plans. According to the awards announcement, "The DPS sustainability team approaches its work with bold action, innovation and accountability while engaging students and staff in creating a livable future and thriving learning environments.” 

A school facility in Columbia – Rochester School – was this year’s award winner for K-12 School. The facility has achieved more than 70 percent energy savings and 40 percent water savings compared to a conventionally built school, according to the Best of Green Schools announcement.  

Other awards recipients included Darien Clary, the Director of Sustainability for the Austin Independent School District, who spearheaded efforts to integrate sustainability across the 73,000-student school district. 

Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine. 

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