Green Gown Awards 2014 - Continuous Improvement - University of Gloucestershire - Highly Commended

The Map is not the territory: from strategy to reality at the University of Gloucestershire

University of Gloucestershire (UoG) has been engaged in sustainability for many years and has worked hard to progress its integrated strategy, keep the agenda alive during major periods of change, reach out to new constituencies and tackle challenging areas such as student engagement and curriculum innovation. It is proud of its strong performance and improvement which now connects deeply across the University community and is bringing in new collaborations and opportunities.

UoG has been deeply committed to ‘whole of institution’ sustainability since 2007 and seeks to be a pace-setter in Education for Sustainability. This submission shows how it has changed gear over the past five years: having been recognised for its structural and policy shifts, it had the plans and frameworks for deep change but not the reach and staff-student ‘buy-in’ to make it happen. With targeted effort in leadership, practice, curriculum, student engagement and outreach, UoG is now making strides, equipped with the map, strengthened strategic focus, sector-leading projects, new levels of engagement, and a tested ability to adapt and innovate for the future.

Top 3 learnings

1 The fact that there will be different change processes for different stakeholder groups and the approaches adopted will need to reflect this variety
2 The fact that institutional change takes time and is highly unpredictable as well as non-linear
3 That sustainability innovation is a continuous learning curve.

What the judges say ... 

The judges recognised that the University has been at the forefront of implementing the sustainability agenda for a number of years. Sustainability is embedded in every aspect of the institution.

What it means to win ...

“Winning this award for our institutional progress brings huge recognition and reward to the many people who have worked tirelessly in this area over the years. We are known as leaders but successes do not come easily in sustainability – to have this acknowledgement of our pioneer spirit and hard-won achievements is fantastic.”

Professor Daniella Tilbury, Dean of Sustainability