Green Seal Leadership Awards FAQ
What are the Green Seal Leadership Awards?
The Green Seal Leadership Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate measurable leadership in advancing safer, more sustainable products and services and actively promoting Green Seal certification.
General Program Information
The Green Seal Leadership Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate measurable leadership in advancing safer, more sustainable products and services and actively promoting Green Seal certification.
Organizations in one of the following applicant categories may apply:
- Manufacturers
- Distributors and retailers
- NGOs, institutions, policymakers, and purchasers
Applicants must meet all applicable Core Criteria and at least one Leadership Criterion for their category.
Applications must reflect activities and accomplishments occurring between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025. All metrics, examples, and supporting documentation should relate to this reporting period unless otherwise noted.
Most applicants should expect to spend approximately 2–3 hours completing the application, depending on the availability of supporting data and documentation.
Eligibility and Application Requirements
Applicants must meet all Core Criteria and at least one Leadership Criterion within their applicant category.
The reporting period for this year’s awards covers January through December 2025. If your certification was achieved in 2026, you will be eligible to apply next year.
Yes. Organizations that qualify under more than one applicant category may submit separate applications for each category.
Applications submitted in multiple categories must describe substantially different activities, accomplishments, and impacts relevant to the criteria for that category.
Yes. Separate business units, subsidiaries, or brands may apply if they maintain distinct product portfolios, certification portfolios, programs, initiatives, or impacts.
Green Seal may request clarification if applications contain substantial overlap.
Manufacturer Questions
An eligible product portfolio includes all products sold by the applicant in categories for which Green Seal standards currently exist.
Products in categories that do not have an applicable Green Seal standard should not be included in the calculation.
New Green Seal-certified products or branded product lines introduced during the reporting period may be counted.
Packaging size variations or other configuration changes that do not represent a distinct certified product or product line generally should not be counted.
Organizations may use a reasonable and consistent methodology, such as revenue, units sold, or another internal sales measure.
Applicants should briefly describe the methodology used.
Examples include:
- Product packaging
- Website product pages
- Sustainability reports
- Sales or distributor materials
- Trade show participation
- Social media campaigns
Applicants must provide at least one example for each promotional channel claimed.
Distributor and Retailer Questions
A Green Seal-certified SKU is any currently certified product stocked, sold, or distributed by the applicant during the reporting period.
Examples include:
- In-store signage
- Online filtering or labeling
- Dedicated landing pages
- Buyer guides or catalog callouts
- Sales team education
Applicants should provide documentation or examples demonstrating implementation.
Visible promotion demonstrates that certified products are being highlighted or made easier to identify.
Leadership activities go further by influencing purchasing behavior, creating market demand, establishing preferred product programs, integrating Green Seal into policies, or implementing major campaigns promoting certified products.
NGO, Institution, Policymaker, and Purchaser Questions
Examples include:
- Procurement policies
- Product specifications
- Purchasing guidelines
- Contract requirements
- Sustainability standards
Applicants should provide documentation demonstrating formal adoption.
Examples may include:
- Purchasing Green Seal-certified products
- Adoption across facilities or departments
- Changes in procurement practices
- Measurable increases in certified product use
Public communication demonstrates that Green Seal is publicly acknowledged in organizational materials, reports, policies, or communications.
Leadership requires a broader initiative—such as education, advocacy, or procurement policy adoption—that creates measurable influence, organizational change, or market impact.
Leadership Criteria
Leadership is demonstrated through a specific initiative, improvement, innovation, campaign, policy, program, or investment that advances safer and more sustainable products and goes beyond routine operations or certification maintenance.
Applicants should select the leadership category that best represents the initiative being described.
If an initiative spans multiple categories, applicants may discuss those connections in their narrative.
Not necessarily, but applicants are strongly encouraged to provide measurable outcomes, evidence, examples, or indicators of impact whenever possible.
Review Process
Applications are reviewed by a cross-functional Green Seal review committee.
Reviewers verify that applicants meet all required Core Criteria and assess leadership submissions against the published criteria.
No. The Green Seal Leadership Awards are a qualification-based recognition program.
Applications are evaluated against published criteria rather than ranked against one another. Multiple organizations may receive recognition if they meet the established standards.
Possibly. Green Seal may request clarification or supporting documentation if additional information is needed to verify eligibility or assess an application.
Due to the anticipated volume of applications, Green Seal may not be able to provide individualized feedback to all applicants.
Recognition
Recipients will receive:
- Official recognition as a Green Seal Leadership Award recipient
- A year-specific digital award badge
- Featured recognition through Green Seal communications, including website content, social media, press outreach, and other promotional activities
- Recognition at the Green Seal Leadership Awards ceremony at ISSA North America, if in attendance
Recipients will be notified in early November.
Attendance is encouraged but not required. The ceremony will take place at the ISSA Show North America in Las Vegas on November 16th. Award recipients who are not registered for the ISSA Show will receive a day pass to attend the event.
Yes. Green Seal understands that applicants may need to provide confidential business information, such as sales data, portfolio information, or internal metrics, to demonstrate eligibility. Such information will be used solely for application review and will not be publicly disclosed without the applicant’s consent.
Award recipients will have the opportunity to review and approve any public descriptions of their accomplishments before publication.