What Is Certification?
Ready, set, certify!
Eco-Schools certification represents environmental excellence for primary through secondary schools in Malaysia.
Participation in the programme allows students, teachers, school administrators, custodians, and parents to get a clear picture of their current environmental practices and take action to reduce their environmental footprint. Each year, schools apply for certification by undertaking environmental actions, campaigns, and projects, and then recording them in the online Eco-Schools Certification Application (ECA) to earn points. At the end of the year, school applications are assessed based on a standard established over 10 years of benchmarking and are awarded a final certification level.
Check out our 2022-23 Certification Guide for a comprehensive overview of the programme.
Why certify?
| Quantitative Findings |
|---|
| 30% Water Savings |
| 35% Waste Savings |
| 5% Watts Savings |
| Qualitative Findings | |
|---|---|
Teacher96% Increase knowledge about Green STEM and project based learning 85% Increase in positive perception on the importance of sustainability issues 35% Increase in outdoor teaching |
Students25% Waste knowledge increase 55% Water knowledge Increase 21% Watts knowledge Increase |
Eco Committee, assemble!
Every school forms a group of dedicated environmental champions called an Eco Committee
Engaging in environmental actions
Schools can select from dozens of engaging actions like waste-free lunches, planting a garden, GOOS Paper and conducting an energy audit. There is also an opportunity for schools to design their own unique actions. Find a full list of Eco-Schools actions here.
Certification Levels
Receive a digital certification seal for your achievements.
Throughout the school year, schools complete actions in their online application and earn points towards their certification. The depth and extent of these completed environmental actions will determine the school’s final certification level.
There are THREE levels of certification a school can achieve: Bronze, Silver and Green Flag. Schools that begin an application but don’t earn enough points to be certified at the Bronze level are designated as Participants and are welcome to attempt certification again the following year.
When a school becomes a certified Eco-School, they receive a digital certification seal that reflects their certification level. This seal can be displayed on a school’s website and social media accounts, in newsletters, in email signatures and more.
Eco-Schools certification is open to all schools across Malaysia that are associated with school boards and districts.
No school should be prohibited from participating in the Eco-Schools programme because of financial limitations. For all publicly-funded schools in Malaysia, certifying with the Eco-Schools programme is free of charge. An annual fee applies to private/international schools who are pursuing certification.