Green Gown Awards 2018 - University of Gloucestershire - Finalist

The University of Gloucestershire’s new Annual Sustainability Report is a showcase for our balanced performance across all 5 goals of our sustainability strategy. Our report stands out for its focus on student experiences and academic activities, not just the operational and policy actions that feature in most university sustainability reports. Strong infographics and images have helped to communicate our headline results and avoid the trap of text overload, giving our staff, students and partners - who are not specialists - insight into what is important about sustainability practice. It combines clear annual performance measures to show progress on our targets, with selected highlights of unique stories and projects happening each year across the university, plus our commitment to the UN global goals. The real test of our report is that it never sits on the shelf – it has been used for communications campaigns, partnership projects and teaching a range of subjects, releasing the true power of sustainability reporting!

Top 3 learnings:

1. Involve the people who implement sustainability actions in your design process to gain ownership, help with future input and get fresh ideas
2. Well thought out infographics will make the real difference and stimulate further interest and involvement with all your stakeholders
3. Think about how you can use your report to engage and educate for sustainability – it can be the heart of your communication strategy