THE Penang Green School Award has continued to receive encouraging participation from schools across the state since its introduction in 2010, reflecting growing awareness and commitment towards environmental sustainability among the younger generation.
Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the programme’s primary objective is to nurture a generation that is responsible, ethical, and highly conscious of the importance of protecting the environment.
“The Penang Green School Award is one of MBPP’s strategic initiatives introduced in 2010 to strengthen environmental education and cultivate sustainable practices within school communities.
“When the programme was first launched, it involved only 24 schools. However, through the strong collaboration and continued commitment of the Penang Education Department, relevant agencies, participating schools, and MBPP’s strategic partners, participation grew to 45 schools in 2025.
“Building on this success, MBPP has set a more ambitious target of 100 participating schools this year,” Rajendran said in his speech before officiating the programme at City Hall today.
He said the target reflects MBPP’s confidence in seeing more educational institutions take the lead in promoting green practices while producing a generation that is more environmentally conscious and responsible.
“The registration deadline is July 31, and as of today, more than 50 schools have already signed up,” he said.
Rajendran said the programme adopts a holistic evaluation framework based on four key criteria namely efficient use of natural resources, innovation and creativity, cleanliness and greening initiatives, as well as digitalisation and community engagement.
In conjunction with this year’s programme, Rajendran also announced that MBPP has introduced a Used Cooking Oil Collection Competition for schools on Penang island.
“This year, MBPP has adopted an integrated approach by combining the Green School Award and the Used Cooking Oil Collection Competition under a single platform, allowing both initiatives to be carried out simultaneously.
“This approach not only enhances management efficiency and optimises the use of resources, but also provides schools with greater opportunities to integrate various green practices and circular economy concepts into their daily activities.
“Through this initiative, school communities are exposed to waste reduction practices, efficient resource utilisation, and more responsible waste management, in line with sustainable development goals and MBPP’s efforts to strengthen the low-carbon city agenda,” he said.
Rajendran said MBPP is also targeting the participation of 100 schools in the used cooking oil collection competition this year, while aiming to significantly increase the amount of oil collected.
“I am confident that this target can be achieved through the continued commitment of all stakeholders, especially schools, the Penang Education Department, our strategic partners, and the community as a whole,” he added.
He also revealed that programme strategic partner Petronas has recently expanded its used cooking oil collection network by opening 100 petrol stations nationwide as collection points.
“Only last week, Petronas announced this initiative, and collections have already exceeded 74,000 kilogrammes.
“This achievement demonstrates that efforts to educate the public on responsible waste management are beginning to yield positive results,” he said.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud