The partnership between ADEE and Henry Schein began in 2023 with the establishment of the Practice Green Awards, aimed at promoting and recognising the efforts of dental schools and organisations in advancing environmental sustainability. In 2025, this initiative will evolve with two categories to drive change: The “Practice Green” category will continue to highlight environmentally sustainable approaches of dental schools and organisations, whilst the new “Social Excellence” category will focus on helping health happen, celebrating efforts to improve equitable healthcare outcomes and access to care. 

Dublin/Amsterdam/Langen, 19 March 2025 - The Association of Dental Education in Europe (ADEE), the European Dental Students’ Association (EDSA), and Henry Schein are pleased to continue the cooperation to help drive change by granting the 2025 Oral Health Professional Educators’ “Practice Green” Awards. This year’s awards will continue to highlight progress on environmental initiatives through the first category: ‘Practice Green’ Award (environmental sustainability) and include the introduction of a new category, the ‘Social Excellence’ Award, to help health happen by recognising improvements in social health outcomes for communities and patients.

Expanding the parameters of the award to encompass both environmental and social impact reflects the shared values of the partners. By incorporating a social excellence component, the award will better reflect the impactful contributions dental schools and societies are making to drive change towards sustainable practices and meaningful social responsibility.

Award category descriptions and submission parameters

Category 1: Oral Health Professional Educators' “Practice Green” Awards

This category aims to embed an ethos of sustainability within the education lifecycle for oral health professionals and within the educational and clinical practice settings. Best practice examples will be showcased and recognised through participation in this programme. 

Parameters for submission

The Oral Health Professional Educators “Practice Green” Awards recognise two ADEE member institutions that have demonstrated excellence in integrating sustainability across the educational, clinical, and operational practices. This award celebrates institutions that actively contribute to environmental stewardship, with initiatives that encompass sustainable campus management, eco-conscious procurement, and the integration of sustainability principles into their educational programmes.

Institutions are encouraged to showcase comprehensive efforts that reduce environmental impact, such as energy conservation, waste reduction, and the adoption of greener materials and resources. Additionally, the awards highlight the importance of embedding sustainability into the curriculum, preparing future oral health professionals to practice in ways that benefit the environment.

By participating, institutions can share how their innovative strategies have created a positive, lasting impact on the campus, clinical settings, and the broader public. This may include either a clinical or departmental approach.

Category 2 - Oral Health Professional Educators' “Social Excellence” Awards to help health happen

This category aims to embed an ethos of social responsibility within the education lifecycle for oral health professionals and within the educational and clinical practice settings. Best practice examples will be showcased and recognised through participation in this programme. 

Parameters for submission:

The Oral Health Professional Educators “Social Excellence” Awards recognise two ADEE member institutions that have demonstrated exemplary dedication to integrating social responsibility across the educational, clinical, and operational practices. These awards celebrate institutions that actively contribute to societal well-being through initiatives that enhance access to care, promote inclusion, and foster a culture of equity and support for underserved populations.

Institutions are encouraged to showcase efforts that positively impact local communities, such as programmes that provide equitable access to dental care and outreach to communities in need. Additionally, the awards emphasise the importance of preparing future oral health professionals to practice in ways that benefit society.

By participating, institutions can highlight how the innovative strategies have fostered meaningful, lasting change within the communities, clinical settings, and the broader public. This can include increased access to care programmes or innovation resulting in improved health care outcomes.

The Oral Health Educators' “Practice Green” Award, originally established in 2023, was inspired by Henry Schein’s global sustainability initiative, Practice Green™. Through this initiative, Henry Schein seeks to empower the health care sector with ways to reduce their environmental footprint while providing high-quality patient care. Practice Green provides customers and suppliers with products, solutions, and resources that enable health care professionals to create a greener practice. By expanding the award to include a social impact category, it now serves as a more comprehensive tribute to Henry Schein’s broader corporate citizenship initiatives.

Prof Brian O’Connell, ​​ADEE President, said: “After two successful years of the ‘Practice Green’ Awards, ADEE is thrilled to continue our partnership with Henry Schein and EDSA on this initiative and to introduce the additional ‘Social Excellence’ category. Through these awards, we can support ADEE member institutions in raising awareness of both environmental and socially related efforts.”

EDSA Vice President of External Affairs, Saulė Skinkytė, stated: “We at EDSA are delighted to again collaborate with ADEE and Henry Schein on this initiative. The award results over the past two years showed how driving sustainability is already on the minds of students and educators. We are pleased to continue this emphasis on sustainability in curriculum as well as introduce the new category recognising social responsibility. It is clear that collaboration in these areas can make a true impact.”

The Oral Health Educators' “Practice Green” Award, originally established in 2023, was inspired by Henry Schein’s global sustainability initiative, Practice Green™. Through this initiative, Henry Schein seeks to empower the health care sector with ways to reduce their environmental footprint while providing high-quality patient care. Practice Green provides customers and suppliers with products, solutions, and resources that enable health care professionals to create a greener practice. By expanding the award to include a social impact category, it now serves as a more comprehensive tribute to Henry Schein’s broader corporate citizenship initiatives.

“It is an honor to again collaborate with ADEE and EDSA, especially with this year’s expanded award categories. Together, we aim to promote sustainability and social responsibility to drive change in dental education and across the industry as a whole,” said Nicola Loynes, Vice President, EMEA Special Markets, Henry Schein.

Applications are now open to ADEE member institutions and will remain open until 30 June 2025. The awards will be presented at a gala event held as part of ADEE 2025 Annual Meeting in Dublin, Ireland, from 20 to 22 August 2025.

For further information about the application process, please visit the award website or contact administrator@adee.org.

About ADEE

Founded in 1975, The Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) brings together a broad-based membership across Europe comprised of dental schools, specialist societies and national associations concerned with dental education. ADEE is committed to the advancement of the highest level of health care for all people of Europe through its mission statements and by focusing on the standardisation and advancement of oral health professionals’ education. It draws membership from within the WHO Europe Region and beyond. 

About EDSA

The European Dental Students’ Association (EDSA) was founded in 1988 and currently represents more than 70,000 dental students from 182 dental schools in 33 different countries. EDSA is a not-for-profit and independent organisation that is open to all local or national dental students’ associations in the European region.

About Henry Schein, Inc.

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) is a solutions company for health care professionals powered by a network of people and technology. With approximately 25,000 Team Schein Members worldwide, the Company's network of trusted advisors provides more than 1 million customers globally with more than 300 valued solutions that help improve operational success and clinical outcomes. The Company´s Business, Clinical, Technology, and Supply Chain solutions help office-based dental and medical practitioners work more efficiently so they can provide quality care more effectively. These solutions also support dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, as well as other alternate care sites. 

Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 300,000 branded products and Henry Schein corporate brand products in its distribution centers. A FORTUNE 500 Company and a member of the S&P 500® index, Henry Schein is headquartered in Melville, N.Y., and has operations or affiliates in 33 countries and territories.  

For more information, visit Henry Schein at  www.henryschein.com, Facebook.com/HenrySchein, Instagram.com/HenrySchein, LinkedIn.com/Company/HenrySchein, and @HenrySchein on X. 

Media contacts

ADEE
Denis Murphy
Chief Administrative Officer
Email: denis.murphy@adee.org
Phone: +353 86 816 9729

EDSA
Saulė Skinkytė 
Vice President of External Affairs
European Dental Students’ Association         
Email: vpexternal@edsaweb.org

Henry Schein
Stefanie Fleige
Director, Corporate Media Relations EMEA
Email: stefanie.fleige@henryschein.de
Phone: +49 172 6433548