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Green Corrections Challenge

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When environment, economy, and society overlap, there is sustainability

Green corrections is what happens when we apply green principles to everyday practices in corrections. Even more simply put, it's applying what we know helps people save money, energy, and time in their personal lives and applying it wisely to relevant processes throughout America's correctional system. As the field of corrections changes, the need to begin approaching corrections problems with smarter, greener solutions becomes clearer.

The Green Corrections Challenge lays the foundation for future green corrections work, developing a strong community of individuals who are driving innovation through competition in the field.

The Green Corrections Challenge is also your chance to share with us your new ideas and effective best practices for green corrections. Whether you're a citizen concerned about public safety or a student or professional in the field, you probably have a few good ideas. You may have thought of creative ways to conserve energy in a facility, provide job training, save fuel, or reduce time. You may be part of innovations for pretrial, offender reentry, visitation, faith-based programs, college and university initiatives, job training, or building design. There are numerous combinations and unlimited possibilities. Some of them are ones that only you've thought of.

In a presentation of 7 minutes or less, we want you to tell us your idea or practice. We've created three primary categories (correctional facilities, education and training, and reentry programs) and one additional category for new green concepts (for ideas that don't fit neatly into one of the other three areas). You can submit one presentation for each category, giving you up to four different opportunities to share.

The creators of a presentation from each category will be selected for the opportunity to share their idea or practice in a webinar hosted by the National Institute of Corrections. In the webinar, you'll be able to share how your suggestion would be implemented.

With a little creativity, each of us can play a role in invigorating the field with new ideas—your ideas—on how to apply green practices and help make a difference in thousands of lives.