On April 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Children's Health Protection (OCHP) honored The Ashkin Group and the company's president, Stephen Ashkin, as one of 14 organizations to receive a 2006 Children's Environmental Health Excellence Award.

This prestigious award, which recognizes organizations for their activities in outreach, education, and intervention to protect children from environmental health risks, was presented at a special awards ceremony held on April 20, 2006, at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.

The Ashkin Group, led by Ashkin, is receiving the award for its accomplishments working with the Healthy Schools Campaign, a partnership created with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to develop a Green Cleaning program.

The program focuses on making the transition from conventional to environmentally preferable cleaning products. Components of the program include:

The program allowed CPS to adopt a district-wide policy that promotes Green Cleaning. It also led to the development of a Quick & Easy Guide to Green Cleaning published by the Healthy School Campaign.

"This program and guide, which can be adapted to most any school system, along with the recognition from EPA will serve to help us accelerate the adoption of Green Cleaning in schools all around the country," Ashkin says.

According to Dr. William H. Sanders III, Acting Director, Office of Children's Health Protection and Environmental Education, protecting children from environmental health risks is fundamental to EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment. But he also believes the success of this mission depends on the assistance of organizations and individuals such as The Ashkin Group.

"While EPA bears much of the responsibility for ensuring that children have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and safe food to eat, we recognize the critical role others have to protect children from environmental threats," he says.

Sanders adds that this year's winners demonstrate an unusually strong commitment to children's environmental health and that the EPA is proud to be recognizing them for their dedication and leadership.

"We are honored and proud to be the first industry representative to ever win this EPA award, and accept this award for the entire cleaning industry," says Ashkin. "This award only serves to demonstrate the important and often unseen contributions that we make, and increases our commitment to do even more to help children and protect the environment."

For more information about the Children's Environmental Health Excellence Award, visit EPA at http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/CEH_Award.htm.