University Institute wins Green Gown award

07 Nov 2012

The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute Centre for Doctoral Training has been awarded a prestigious Green Gown award.

The award, in the academic courses category, was given for the Institute's innovative approach to sustainability.

The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) announced the winners at the Green Gown Awards ceremony at the Great Hall, University of Birmingham from among 98 UK finalists in higher and further education.

Dr Sally Randles, Co-Director of the SCI-CDT, collected the award on behalf of SCI-CDT Director Professor Colin Hughes, the SCI-CDT staff team and the 35 PhD Researchers on the programme.

Professor Colin Hughes, Associate Vice President for Sustainability at The University of Manchester, said:

“The primary goal of the SCI-CDT programme from the outset was to develop an outstanding community of early career researchers readily able to collaborate across disciplinary, cultural and international boundaries in pivotal areas of environmental sustainability, and we’re very pleased to have been recognised for the innovation of the programme."

SCI-CDT students have presented papers and posters at 89 international conferences and published 26 peer review publications over the past four years.

They have also organised museum-based public engagement events involving family learning activities with hundreds of adults and children from local communities.

The judges described the SCI-CDT as “an outstanding example of an imaginative, holistic approach to sustainability in post graduate teaching with circular benefits back to the undergraduate curriculum, onwards to employment and to local and green communities.”

Other finalists from The University of Manchester were the Manchester Museum for their innovative exhibition ‘Living Worlds’ in the category Social Responsibility and the Halls of Residence students’ energy saving initiative in the category Student Initiatives and Campaigns.

EAUC Chief Executive Iain Patton describes the Green Gown Awards as a shop window for social and environmental sustainability good practice, stating “sustainability isn't going away: we can't let it. Although it remains a challenging and anxious time for universities and colleges, this year’s winning and highly commended entries demonstrate not only that innovative institutions are taking successful action to minimise their environmental footprints and enhance their social contribution, but also that this is often accompanied by other organisational benefits.”