Now in their 16th year, the Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK and Ireland. With sustainability moving up the agenda, the Awards have become established as the most prestigious recognition of best practice within the tertiary education sector.
Having been a leading participant in the United Nations negotiations to develop 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the UK and Ireland must fulfil its commitment to deliver the Goals. For this to happen, it is clear from the hundreds of applicants to the Green Gown Awards that the Government must invest more in the solutions being developed in our Higher and Further Education institutes. They are leading the way as agents of change within our communities at home and abroad.
Between the Finalists, the projects touch on every department and permeate across the whole curriculum. They are conducted by students, staff, academics, external stakeholders and can be found across the UK and Ireland.
Here they share their inspirational examples of sustainability best practice, together with some words of advice and encouragement on lessons learnt along the way when implementing their projects. We hope many will be inspired and motivated by these sustainability projects.
STAFF: Dr Amanda Slevin, Queen’s University Belfast
STAFF: Dr Katherine Haxton, Keele University
STAFF: Grounds & Gardens Team, University of Leicester
STAFF: Dr Maggy Fostier and Dr Ruth Grady, The University of Manchester
STUDENT: Emma Kidd, Glasgow Caledonian University
STUDENT: Margaret Jennings, Goldsmiths, University of London
STUDENT: Charlotte Evans and Millicent Sutton, University of St Andrews
STUDENT: Meggie Eloy and Carla Field, University of Leicester
Cibele Machado Fontoura, Kingston School of Art
Nalinee Netithammakorn, De Montfort University
UWS delivering sustainability
The Art of Sustainability - Strategy, resilience and creativity
Creating change through collaboration
D&G - A green region
Powering ahead with a low carbon supply
Nurture and Grow: Connecting people through nature
Plastic Free LSE
EcoTeam
It’s Time for Change - What will yours be?
Green Move Out and Student Volunteers
BLC: Keen to go green!
Empowering the next generation for a sustainable creative sector and beyond
Tackling chronic lung disease in Africa
Jali Ardhi: Care of the land
Digitalising sustainable consumption
Desert Garden
HyDeploy: A research and innovation partnership for decarbonising the nation’s gas network
Domesticating the energy grass Miscanthus to combat climate change
The University of Worcester
University of the West of England
Aston University
Extinction Rebellion Takeover - Creatives prove that change can happen
Collaboration: Learning and sharing together
Radical Sustainability
A Rounder Sense of Purpose
Collaborations for Change: Integrating the SDGs in Further and Higher Education
Sustainability by Crowd - Using crowd research technique for making a more sustainable campus
Girls in Energy - A catalyst for change
Finally! Success with remote teaching and learning
Learning English through sustainability: Teaching international students English for academic purposes using the SDGs
Housing Futures - Sustainability skills at the centre of learning for future housing professionals
Warwick Enterprise: Summer Programme 2020 - Inspiring UNSDG innovators
SERC Sustainable Student Enterprise
Young Enterprise: How entrepreneurship and sustainability combine to form the DNA of successful start-up businesses
Educate to Innovate: Developing and sustaining Female Food Entrepreneurs
Creating a Sustainable World through making
A second chance for single-use lab plastics
Our future is in our hands
Greening our Campus and City
Campus Transformation - A campus for the 21st Century