Evaluating Sustainability Strategies: Our Role in the Green Gown Awards

The Green Gown Awards, hosted by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), have emerged as a renowned platform for recognising outstanding sustainability initiatives within universities and colleges.

The awards are split into a range of categories, all the way from awarding individual 'Sustainability Champions' to ranking universities '2030 Climate Ambition' targets.

In this short blog, we're delighted to showcase that, for the past two years, we've had the honour of serving as judges for the 'Reporting with Influence' category at the Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland!

This year the finalists in the 'Reporting with Influence' category were the University of Worcester, the University of Gloucestershire, and the University of Plymouth. The winner will be announced on Thursday, November 30th. 

[Edit 01/12/2023]: Congratulations to the University of Plymouth for winning the 'Reporting with Influence' category for 2023! 

Reporting With Influence

We want to make sure that nominees are reporting their environmental impact transparently and effectively. To do so, we adhere to the following criteria when evaluating sustainability strategies: 

• Consideration of sustainability risks and opportunities and how this factors into institutional decision making.
• Evidence of clear linkages with Governors and senior management.
• Evidence of engaging with internal and external stakeholders, and how this has impacted on the organisation's strategy.
• Evidence of internal or external assurance over data.
• Evidence of how the report fits with core business, institution wide KPIs and targets.
• Evidence of how the report is integrated within broader business reporting.

The Finalists

This year, the 'Reporting With Influence' category has three finalists:

• The University of Gloucestershire: The University of Gloucestershire transitioned to a fully digital sustainability report with enhanced visuals for carbon net zero tracking, introduced a concise PDF version, developed new quantitative indicators for sustainability course design in line with SDG 17, and received BSi ISO 14001 approval for their integrated reporting strategy.
• The University of Plymouth: The University of Plymouth consistently documents sustainability achievements using the GRI reporting standard and recently secured the PAS 2060 standard for carbon neutrality, with a commitment to transparency, external verification, and stakeholder engagement, resulting in significant carbon savings over the years.
• The University of Worcester: The University of Worcester offers a comprehensive sustainability report centered on SDGs, aligning with their 2030 net-zero carbon commitment, emphasizing integrated sustainability in strategy and operations, and fostering collaboration and community inspiration.

Conclusion

As a carbon consultancy, our expertise lies in calculating and presenting emission reduction strategies. So unsurprisingly, we're extremely passionate about improving carbon reporting standards! It has been an extremely enriching experience to evaluate broader sustainability strategies within the Green Gown Awards.

If you're reading this and know of any other awards that need judging, get in touch!