Green Gown Awards 2014 - Sustainability Champion Award - Emily Rye - Highly Commended

Environmental Coordinator, University of Huddersfield

Emily has been a pioneer for the University; as the first environmental employee, carving a place for sustainability initiatives, generating University-wide interest, and determinedly driving sustainability up the agenda.

A natural collaborator, Emily has networked widely, forging links and relying on strong partnerships to achieve goals without the advantages of a senior position. Emily has been instrumental in reducing waste, increasing sustainable travel options, and growing the appetite for sustainable food. She has empowered the University to tackle waste, developing recycling schemes and championing waste reduction opportunities including furniture reuse and supplier take-back schemes.

Emily has strived to embed sustainability broadly across the organisation, skillfully promoting issues to varied stakeholders and engaging senior colleagues in dialogue on an array of topics, from sustainable catering to ethical investment. Emily co-convened the Education for Sustainable Development Forum, resulting in the introduction of sustainability into University strategy and a University-wide Sustainability Review.

Top 3 learnings

1 Whatever your position you can make a significant impact and instigate positive change
2 Even if unsure of all the likely outcomes, don’t be afraid to have a go and try new ideas, working within your organisation’s systems
3 Small steps combined with a sustained effort over time, can amount to a significant difference on sustainability.. #italladdsup #persistence #workinprogress

What the judges say ...

An excellent proposal. A huge range of impacts are evident - engagement across all areas of sustainability and membership of external groups. There is evidence of pushing boundaries into the academic sphere and providing leadership by empowering academic colleagues. Sheer comprehensiveness. Founder member of the ESD Forum. The role has
been grown and developed.

What it means to win ...

“While reviewing our University Strategy recently, one item that continually topped the agenda at consultations was sustainability. It matters to us as a management team, to our staff and our students. Emily’s efforts on the ground supporting this have made a massive difference to the University and deserve individual recognition.”

Professor Bob Cryan CBE DL, Vice-Chancellor