The Annual Green Schools Programme Awards Ceremony is a prestigious event that celebrates the ‘green’ achievements of outstanding schools from across the country for their ingenuity and progressive practices. The objective is to acknowledge their endeavours and encourage more schools to actively engage in this environmentally conscious movement. The awards ceremony is a significant and festive affair, showcasing the participation of schoolchildren from across the nation in diverse competitions and activities.
For the second consecutive year, Punjab secured the Best State Award, registering the highest number of audit submissions. This year, 7,406 schools from Punjab participated, with 196 earning a green rating. Hoshiarpur was recognised as the Best District, with 1,945 schools submitting reports.
CSE director general Sunita Narain and education reformer and inventor from Ladakh Sonam Wangchuk gave away the awards. Emphasising the need for a transformative approach to education, Wangchuk stated, “We need to redefine education. The education system we follow is from the industrial revolution. Today we know that things are falling apart. So, we better change.”
Speaking at the awards function, Narain said: “ CSE’s Green Schools Programme shows that we can be the change we want to see in the world. It gives us hope; it gives us courage and inspiration.”
The GSP Audit 2025 saw a record-breaking participation of 8,831 schools from 33 states and Union territories.
The Green Schools Award 2024-25
Best State and District: Punjab bagged the award for the best state with 7,406 report submissions — 196 of them rated ‘green’. Hoshiarpur bagged the best district award with 1945 submissions.
Changemaker Awards: The Changemaker Awards are given to schools which improve their sustainability rating from yellow to green by monitoring and improving their practices over the year.
This year’s changemakers are:
JP International School, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh
PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya AFS Manauri, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh
Sterling Schools Awards: Schools that have consistently demonstrated excellence in environmental sustainability by maintaining a Green School ranking for five consecutive years under the Green Schools Programme (GSP).
Delhi Public School Ludhiana, Punjab
Kendriya Vidyalaya Baikunthpur, Korea, Chhattisgarh
PM SHRI KV Army Cantt., Pangode
R.M.K. Residential Senior Secondary School, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Shiv Nadar School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Shri Ram Centennial School, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
St. Thomas’ School, New Delhi
Subodh Public School Airport Jaipur, Rajasthan
The Fabindia School, Pali, Rajasthan
The Section Toppers: Green-rated schools that have performed outstandingly in a specific audit section
Air Action Award: Kendriya Vidyalaya, NTPC Shaktinagar, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh
Energy Manager Award: Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Good Food Award: Delhi Public School, Pune, Maharashtra
Land Manager Award: Cambridge School, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Water-Wise Award: Queen’s Valley School, Dwarka, New Delhi
Waste Warrior Award: Pinegrove School Dharampur, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
About the GSP Audit
CSE’s Green Schools Programme (GSP) is an innovative environmental education initiative that enables schools to assess their resource use and implement sustainable practices. Through the GSP Audit, students evaluate their school’s performance across six key areas: air, energy, food, land, water, and waste. Schools completing the audit receive a sustainability rating—Green, Yellow, Orange, or Red—and a detailed performance report, guiding them to improve year after year.
It is an environment management system that audits, through students, the consumption of natural resources within school campuses and helps schools become good environmental managers by deploying pragmatic solutions to reduce wastage of resources.
The data that has emerged after the 2024-25 audit shows that:
87 per cent schools do not own or use vehicles
93 per cent schools do not sell packaged food items in the campus
77 per cent schools use energy-efficient lighting
71 per cent schools are single-use plastic free zones
26 per cent schools use green source of energy (solar)
25 per cent schools have rainwater harvesting systems in place
30 per cent schools segregate waste and compost wet waste
48 per cent schools have more than 35 per cent green area
16 per cent schools burn waste
8 per cent schools use diesel vehicles
CSE’ GSP Network has over 15,000 schools across India. GSP aims to subtly sensitise students towards the environment through hands-on learning and thought-provoking sustainable activities.
(A CSE media release)
