Green Gown Awards 2021: Reporting with Influence - University of Gloucestershire - Highly Commended

University of Gloucestershire     

Our Annual Sustainability Report was designed to communicate and engage people inside and outside our University, from students to staff, to partners locally, in our sector and other industries. The report takes seriously its duty to report clearly for lay readers on technical issues that are easy to ‘greenwash’ such as carbon - and to communicate the importance of sustainability learning and the impact our graduates create in the world.

Linked to our Environmental Management System, it shows our decisions, top impacts and opportunities to drive positive change. We do not shy away from reporting change (e.g. pandemic effects good and bad), even loss of accreditation or under-performance, as honesty is key to powerful reporting. Improvement areas are defined according to impact assessment and student interests. We have feedback on how it has influenced understanding of sustainability and inspired people to drive change, from teams internally to regional schools’ networks, to our accounting students who study it each year. 

Top 3 learnings:

1. We involve those who deliver on sustainability, to gain ownership, input, and fresh ideas.
2. Clear infographics and simple stories make all the difference in communicating sustainability.
3. Our report is a centrepiece of our communication strategy, to engage and educate people