Categories and Criteria

Supporting dissemination

A key part of the EAUC's role is to ensure that the Green Gown Awards continue to go from strength to strength and that Members see increased dissemination of good practice - thus reflecting value added approach to Membership. These resources help colleagues achieve more from the Green Gown Awards in the future. We are delighted that the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are again supporting the dissemination of Awards excellence.

Categories

Best Newcomer

This category recognises those institutions that are starting their sustainability journey including institutions that have not been a finalist before*. Initiatives could include those which have achieved significant sustainability achievements in a relative short period and/or with a restricted budget, e.g. quick wins, good progress from a low base in a short period of time. Applications must show how learning from others has been implemented. Applications must show substantial commitment from senior management and go beyond legal compliance.

Judges will have the discretion to award up to 2 winners for this category to distinguish between Colleges and Universities. However, this will only be done when applications are of a high quality and is not mandatory for judges to do so.

Not open to previous Green Gown Award finalists.

*If a merged college (previously a finalist) but not a new entity (i.e. with the same name), they are not eligible to apply for 2 years from date of new merger. If a merged college becomes a new entity, having previously been a finalist, then they are eligible to enter.

Built Environment

This category is not available in 2017 and runs biennially (every 2 years) and therefore will return in 2018 as a category.

Carbon Reduction

This category recognises initiatives which have achieved significant reductions in the carbon footprint of an institution through the likes of:

Energy consumption and source; Waste reduction, recycling and responsible disposal; Sustainable travel planning and management.

There is no presumption that institutions will have participated in the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Management Programme, or other such activities, although activities connected with this are certainly eligible. Applications are only likely to be successful if they provide considerable quantitative evidence on the nature of the improvements made and demonstrate a causal relationship between activities undertaken and improvements achieved. Carbon reduction has to be in line with wider sustainability principles and to clarify if the carbon reductions have had any negative/positive consequences elsewhere. 

Applications must also demonstrate real improvement, rather than precursor activities such as foot-printing or setting of targets. Refer to CO2 bullet 2 in the generic criteria.

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Community

This category recognises initiatives by tertiary education institutions which create significant benefits for local communities, disadvantaged groups (including disability and accessibility in the broader sense) and/or society as a whole in either the UK (or host country) or developing countries. As well as specific initiatives, this category includes institutions taking a leading and visionary role in multi-partner activities such as community development or urban regeneration.

Although all applications will be considered on their merits, the judges will particularly be looking for innovative community engagement type of initiatives which have an element of proactive, new, community and social concern and positive impacts, rather than the very worthy and commendable ‘grass roots’ and ‘business as usual’ activities.A powerful example of such innovative and proactive engagement is the Living Lab approach: establishing projects that draw on students’ curricular work or academic research to address real sustainability challenges in stakeholder partnerships with community bodies.

Activities which have a substantial student element should be submitted to the Student Engagement category.

The Winning entry will automatically be put forward for the International Green Gown Award for Community.

Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change

To improve social responsibility and environmental performance through a whole institution approach strategic sustainability activities through four main areas must be achieved:

• Leadership and Governance
• Estates and Operations
• Learning, Teaching and Research
• Partnership and Engagement

Applications are only likely to be successful if they provide considerable quantitative evidence on the nature of the improvements made and also demonstrate a causal relationship between activities undertaken and improvements achieved based on the four areas. Initiatives must have been running for at least five years.

Judges will be looking for key areas where it is felt that the institution is distinctive compared to its peers, and provide supporting evidence. Tangible evidence of high level commitment, and its incorporation into management procedures, will also carry great weight with the judges.

The Winning entry will be put forward for the International Green Gown  Award for Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change.

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Enterprise - NEW FOR 2017

This category recognises social, social media and sustainable enterprise as key ingredients of contemporary education to ensure a supply of education leavers who can rise to the 21st century's economic, environmental and social challenges.

Enterprise skills such as creativity, innovation, resilience, opportunity recognition and self-determination are crucial elements, as are the entrepreneurial skills for new business generation. These may arise from activities within the curriculum, be part of extra curricula initiatives or be a product of the Living Lab approach, such as linkages of research output with enterprise that transform and benefit society.

Award winning work can be with students, graduates, post-graduate researchers, academics and the business community to build enterprise skills and capability across any aspect of the institutions mission.

It must be evidenced that the initiative enhances the student’s enterprise skills as well as resulting in beneficial social and environmental impacts. It must be evidenced that alumni impact benefits society.

Initiatives can be existing students or alumni (up to a maximum of 3 years from leaving the institution) and can be individuals or collectives.

This category is an institutional award.

Employability - NEW FOR 2017

This category recognises the essential employability skills required for students when leaving education. Students need to be ready for the sustainability challenges faced by employers and need to have the ability to think and work creatively and flexibly. Employability outcomes are increasingly a key driver in influencing student choice and are of reputational importance.

Initiatives entering this category should illustrate how sustainability can be used to enhance graduate attributes and employability. These may arise from activities within the curriculum, be part of extra curricula initiatives, be a product of the Living Lab approach or link research output with employability skills.

Qualities and skills that will be considered include both academic abilities and personal attributes which are transferrable into the working environment and can be gained through the course of study or engagement in student life.

It must be evidenced that the initiative enhances the student's employability skills as well as resulting in beneficial social and environmental impacts.

This category is an institutional award.

Facilities and Services

This category recognises facility and service excellence across an institution and how sustainability aspects are embedded throughout. It incorporates the shared services (in facilities and services) within or between organisations.

Applications should recognise initiatives where significant sustainability benefits have been achieved that are beyond normal practice or legislation. Judges will be particularly looking for initiatives that have ‘win-win’ benefits for both sustainability and performance, e.g. enhanced student experience, and improved flexibility of provision. Applications which reflect new approaches, innovation, efficiency and student engagement are welcomed. Applicants should include quantitative and qualitative data to show impact.

Initiatives could include: Biodiversity and ground maintenance; Catering including restaurants and cafes; ICT; Laboratories;  Libraries and learning spaces; Procurement; Shops; Sports facilities; Student residences (construction or refurbishment initiatives should apply under the Built Environment category); Transport (specifically activities such as fleets and not policy which would be covered under the Carbon Reduction category); Shared services within or between organisations; Effective approaches to efficiency in order to overcome duplication or fragmentation.

In line with the broader sustainability agenda, judges will be keen to see evidence, if applicable, to the project on carbon reduction. However judges will consider how effective carbon reduction has been applied to the project in a broader sustainability context rather than awarding significant weighting to this element.  Therefore, projects not containing this element are still encouraged to apply. Where applicable provide quantitative clear data to support claims being made and include overall tonnes of CO2 saved using the DEFRA/DECC conversion factors. http://www.ukconversionfactorscarbonsmart.co.uk/. Include, where appropriate, metrics such as: carbon savings relative to output/activity. This might be tCO2/student or tCO2/staff member and/or cost of a project relative to the amount of carbon that has been saved, i.e. £/tCO2.

Applications are also encouraged from 3rd parties such as catering suppliers, waste companies, transport providers, accommodation providers etc. Third party organisations may enter on behalf on an institution, but an institution employee must approve the application. The Award will be made to the institution and not to the third party organisation.

Food and Drink

This category includes all food, drink and hospitality aspects of institutions. Applications are to be beyond good practice and that standard credentials, as examples of good practice, will usually be in place (such as Food for Life Catering Mark; free-range eggs; Fairtrade; seasonal and local food; Marine Stewardship Council; food waste etc.). It includes innovative campaigns across institutions that show creativity and consideration for how food and drink is procured and served and ultimately how behaviour change has been encouraged across staff, students and the broader community.  In particular, judges will be looking for the whole life-cycle approach from concept to waste; promoting awareness (being informed); making informed choices (considering environmental and social issues); improving entire systems (by avoiding decisions that fix one problem but cause another) and informed selections (putting decisions in context with facts from all parts of the life-cycle).

Examples could include new and innovative ways of promoting food, the sourcing and provenance of food served on site, health and wellness focus across menu creation and provision or the design/layout of the hospitality space at large to cater for needs. It could cover reduction in food waste, packaging or a drive to educate and grow awareness of a specific key challenge within the institution.

In line with the broader sustainability agenda, judges will be keen to see evidence, if applicable, to the project on carbon reduction. However judges will consider how effective carbon reduction has been applied to the project in a broader sustainability context rather than awarding significant weighting to this element.  Therefore, projects not containing this element are still encouraged to apply.

Where applicable, refer to bullet 2 in the generic criteria.

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Learning and Skills

This category recognises achievement in the development of academic courses, skills and capabilities relevant to sustainability. These can be vocational, undergraduate or postgraduate courses or related to wider purposes such as community involvement, global or environmental awareness or to support lifestyle changes.

Examples of possible application topics include:  Apprenticeships; Continuing professional development (CPD) activities;  Skill-focused courses leading to professional or vocational qualifications;  Informal adult learning; community learning; and short courses for practitioners; The development of new courses focused on some or all sustainable development issues;  Adaptation of existing courses; Use of practical sustainability-related projects or other practical activities within courses;  Work-based learning initiatives; Staff development..

Applications can be made for activities connected with academic courses if there is a practical focus on the development of specific skills which goes beyond the normal activities of the disciplinary curriculum, e.g. running community-based projects which give students considerable autonomy and develop their communication, management abilities etc.

Possible applicants for this category include: Higher Education institutions; Further Education colleges; adult and community and work-based learning providers.

Research and Development - Institution - REVISED

This category recognises the importance of research and development by tertiary education as a driver of sustainable development and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. As claims of impact from research and development can be difficult to judge, entries are sought which:

• Are about tangible improvements resulting from research & development, rather than the findings or quality of the research & development itself
• Can provide quantitative evidence of what those improvements and resulting sustainability benefits and impacts are. Outcomes linked to the Research Excellence Framework, if applicable, are required
• Can demonstrate a clear and unambiguous causal link between the research & development and improvements and benefits.

Note that adoption or dissemination measures will not be considered sufficient evidence by themselves – there needs to be a further stage of demonstration that adoption or dissemination has actually produced results.

Possible activities include:

• Research and development leading to mitigation of environmental and wider sustainability based impacts related to existing technology
• Research and development that has created new products with demonstrable superiority to existing ones with regard to sustainability
• Research that incorporates the above two, and other principles, as part of a Living Lab project that is successful in co-creating & co-implementing a transformation.

Eligible entries can include both large-scale projects with major impacts as well as small-scale projects that provide tangible impacts in focused areas/technologies, or amongst specific target audiences.

In line with the broader sustainability agenda, judges will be keen to see evidence on how the project links with the Sustainable Development Goals and the impact of the project.

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Research and Development - Student

This category recognises excellent student research that progress the field of sustainability.

Applicants should have completed a piece of sustainability-related research at undergraduate,  master’s level or small research pieces as part of a PhD (not full PhD research), in any discipline, done at a further or higher education institution, assessed within the last calendar year, and scored a 2:1/60%/Merit or above**. The project could be a freestanding piece of work, a product of a Living Lab project or be completed in partnership with an on- or off-campus partner.

Examples include:

• The benefits of biodiversity initiatives on an organisations’ premises;
• Community development, social inclusion or assisting disadvantaged people;
• Alternative ways of communicating sustainability messages;
• Potential new energy-efficient technologies;
• The impacts of alternative methods of trading;
• An evaluation of water-saving technology in a company;
• A resource-efficient engineering or architectural design.

The focus of this award is the impact (actual or estimated) of the research. Judges will be looking for evidence of the project’s potential to strengthen at least one of the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social or economic as well as links to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Applications will be judged on impact and not on the quality of the research itself as that has already been independently verified by the institution.

Applicants are to use the Individual Application Form. The Proposer in the Application Form should be your tutor who can verify your grade/score. If your project work is carried out in a team (i.e. team dissertation) then you may submit on behalf of the team and make it clear in the application form that this is the case.

**The grade/score must be included in the Application Form. If this is not known before the application deadline of 7 June, then the stage 1 application form must be submitted by the deadline and a follow up email from the student/tutor to greengown@eauc.org.uk informing of the grade, is to be sent as soon as known and by 25 June latest.

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Student Engagement

This category reflects that students and staff must work together to achieve goals using “top-down” and “bottom-up grass roots” methods to achieve maximum understanding and engagement across an institution. This in turn aids student progress and allows for opportunities to gain transferable employability skills. It looks at both the student input and the staff commitment and the relationship between the two. It must be clear that initiatives include both staff and students (not just one party) working in partnership.

Where staff and students are involved, as well as including the actual numbers, include how they are involved and what impact/influence they have had.

Examples could include: Social media projects; Awareness and communication campaigns; Procurement actions; Sustainability reporting and websites; Volunteering activities organised by unions, societies and similar organisations within institutions; Community projects.

Applications are equally welcomed from institutions or student bodies.

The Winning entry will automatically be put forward for the International Green Gown Award for Student Engagement.

Sustainability Reporting

Awarded by PwC UK

This Award aims to assess the quality and relevance of sustainability reporting offered throughout the publicly available information provided by institutions. In order to apply the tertiary education institution should provide:

• Evidence that sustainability (environmental and social) issues are being factored into core business strategy/priorities.
• KPIs and targets around the institutions important sustainability issues.
• Performance monitoring and balanced reporting on the organisation's important sustainability issues.

The following criteria are also considered:

• Consideration of sustainability risks and opportunities.
• Evidence of governance over sustainability performance.
• Evidence of engaging with internal and external stakeholders, and how this has impacted on the organisation's sustainability strategy.
• Evidence of internal or external assurance over data.

These attributes form the scoring criteria that will be used by PwC UK’s sustainability reporting experts to judge the reports and recommend the winner to the Green Gown Awards.

Applicants are to submit their latest sustainability report or sustainability section of their annual report via appropriate web links for inclusion. No other supported application form is required.

Sustainability reporting tips can be found here.

Applicants are to use the Sustainability Reporting Application Form.

Sustainability Champion Award

The Sustainability Champion Award is open to both staff and students at a tertiary education institution. It will recognise people at any level (except Executive level – please submit under the Leadership Award) who have worked hard at implementing a sustainability project/initiative (or several) and whose involvement has made a positive impact be that on their peers, their institution, their students, their local community or their local workforce. A key criteria is actions that have been taken over and above the normal requirements of people’s jobs. Applications must provide evidence of impact, and of good leadership/championing practice in engaging and inspiring others.

This category is only open to staff who do not have a formal responsibility for sustainability – for staff with a formal responsibility for sustainability please submit under the Sustainability Professional Award or Leadership Award as appropriate.

Individuals apply themselves but should be formally nominated by a manager or peer (within or outside the sector). Individuals that have not won previously can reapply after 2 years. Teams are allowed to be submitted as long as the role and impact of each team member is made clear.

Judges have the discretion to award two Winners:

• Sustainability Staff Champion Award
• Sustainability Student Champion Award

Sustainability Professional Award

The Sustainability Professional Award is open to staff that have the remit for sustainability at a tertiary education institution. It will recognise people at any level (except Executive level, please submit under the Leadership Award) who have worked hard at pushing boundaries and are doing exemplary work.

It could be specific roles within sustainability or those that have a wider remit within sustainability but judges are looking for pioneering and innovative evidence and not just doing a good job.

Key criteria are that actions have been taken over and above the normal requirements of people’s jobs. Applications must provide evidence of impact, and of good leadership/championing practice in engaging and inspiring others. For people with significant sustainability responsibilities, such as Sustainability Managers, judges will require evidence that any actions have created extraordinary results that are widely recognised beyond their institution.

Individuals apply themselves but should be formally nominated by a manager or peer (within or outside the sector). Individuals that have not won previously can reapply after 2 years.

This category excludes those staff that are doing sustainability activities outside of their normal job description (eligible for the Sustainability Staff Champion Award) and those that are at executive or governance level (eligible for the Leadership Award).

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Leadership Award

This Award is exclusive to senior strategic leadership, at executive or governance level, at a tertiary education institution.

This Award will recognise individuals’ at the most senior level in institutions and those operating alongside them in senior leadership team positions including institutional governance. Recognition will be awarded for a combination of institution-wide impact and powerful external engagement.

This Award seeks to identify and recognise transforming leaders who are shaping the future and making the principles and values of sustainability central to their organisation at the highest levels. Economic, social and environmental sustainability should feature appropriately in all core activities and go beyond procedural, compliant and standard practice. Judges will be looking for evidence of a clear high-level strategic approach – firstly how stakeholders at all levels are engaged in powerful strategic conversations, secondly how a truly integrated plan is constructed and communicated and thirdly the leadership of change and innovation to turn ideas into action. This category does not include those who are leading on subsidiary strategies which sit beneath the institution's over-arching strategic plan.

An organogram of where the individual sits within the institution/their direct report is to be included in the submission.

Individuals apply themselves but should be formally nominated by a manager or peer (within or outside the sector). Individuals that have not won previously can reapply after 2 years.

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