Green Gown Awards 2020 - University of St Andrews - Winner

WINNER: Small changes for significant impact on sustainability 

With small changes, the Residential and Business Services (RBS) at the University of St Andrews have made a significant impact on campus sustainability. By working closely with local farmers, increasing the service of plant-based options, making food waste into bioenergy, and taking several measures to reduce waste to landfill, RBS takes holistic measures across procurement, serving, and waste.  

The initiatives empower the local community and support the well-being of both students and Earth. In addition, many of the projects supporting the sustainable campus are easy to implement in any University campus across the UK. Refillable glass bottles, tray-free service, and bike to work breakfasts are a few examples of this. Making St Andrews University into the sustainable campus is a collaborative goal between students, staff, and community.  

RBS is a leading example of how sustainable choices build on partnership and should be easy to implement while leading to significant behaviour change. 

Top 3 learnings:

1. Changes can appear big - make them into small manageable chunks! 
2. An unsuccessful campaign is not a failure but inspiration on how to move forward.  
3. Change is a journey - be innovative, prepare to compromise, and stay stubborn. 

Videos

• Video #1 (click to hide)