Our University shortlisted for Green Gown Award 2023
16 Aug 2023
The Green Gown Awards celebrate and showcase the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges
Our University has been shortlisted for a Green Gown Award in the 2030 Climate Action category for its work supporting our new Environmental Sustainability strategy.
The University is among 102 finalists representing 65 institutions and its work will be featured on the website as part of a showcase of innovative and replicable sustainability projects. The awards ceremony will take place in November.
Our new Environmental Sustainability (ES) strategy – drafted following extensive consultation with colleagues and students and approved by our Board of Governors – was launched in July 2023.
It builds on our University’s core goals of Teaching and Learning, Research and Discovery and Social Responsibility and stresses the need for all decisions to be taken in the light of our existing carbon commitments. It also highlights six priority operational areas, all linking back to the United Nations Sustainability Goals: Construction and Refurbishment; Risk and Climate Resilience; Responsible Procurement; Resource Management; Valuing Nature; Travel and Transport.
Our University has been shortlisted for the award for our work around decarbonising the University's operations, a major part of the strategy. This work has been shared with other HE institutions and our city neighbours as we rise to the challenge of climate change, made all too clear by weather conditions across the globe this summer.
Head of Environmental Sustainability, Richard Smith explained: “In two years we’ve gone from having a ‘true zero not net zero’ target without a plan to a having a timeline of what needs doing, when, an estimate of cost, and sector-leading funding to kick things off.
“This ‘what, when, how much?’ approach has brought the target to life for everyone from engineers to the Board of Governors. We’ve secured nearly £140m of internal funding and scored three big wins from external sources.
“We’re now beyond strategising and into delivery, with our first air-source heat pump-only building ready soon, and much more to come.
“And we have a clear plan of what we need to do to achieve a sustainable, better campus.”
Environmental Sustainability Manager Lucy Millard added: “While we need to acknowledge we need to do more in terms of following the required carbon reduction path, all the planning we've done over the past two years should mean our progress starts to accelerate over the next year or two.
“Our planning/research phase has been good and we now need to put that into practice – fast.”
Professor Nalin Thakkar, Vice-President for Social Responsibility, urged our campus community to work together to meet the challenge: “The University will be allocating significant funds to this, but we must all contribute through the things we do every day at work and by talking to students and colleagues about the things we are doing to make a difference.”
Green Gown Awards
The Green Gown Awards, established in 2004 and administered by EAUC, recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges. With sustainability moving up the agenda, the Awards have become established as the most prestigious recognition of best practice within the further and higher education sector.
Charlotte Bonner, CEO of EAUC, said: “In a space where greenwash and sustainability marketing has become prolific, the sector led, peer-reviewed structure of the Green Gown Awards ensures they’re meaningful, transparent, and authentic.
“The value of the Green Gown Awards is beyond the individual organisations that are nominated. We look forward to sharing stories about our finalists’ work - providing inspiration, demonstrating impact, and learning from lessons learned along the way.”
Further information
You can read the strategy, including a full list of commitments, at:
There will be regular updates and progress reports on the environmental sustainability strategy and opportunities to engage in the process. If you would like to find out more, then email:
You can view the shortlist and, in the coming weeks, a showcase of work at: