Green Gown Awards 2009 Shortlist Announced

6th April 2009

The search is on for the UK’s most sustainable institutions, with 66 universities and colleges now shortlisted for the final stage of the prestigious Green Gown Awards.

In their fifth year, the awards recognise exceptional initiatives being taken by higher and further education institutions across the UK to become more sustainable. The awards have a variety of categories in which universities and colleges can illustrate their achievements, in both academia and estates management.

This year two new categories have been introduced – Green ICT and Research. A Carbon Reduction category has replaced the previous ‘energy and water efficiency’ section, while the continuous improvement section has been split into two groups ‘specific area’ and ‘institutional change’.

The shortlisted applicants underwent a rigorous assessment, involving 30 expert judges drawn from a range of relevant institutions including the Carbon Trust, the Learning and Skills Council and Universities UK. The successful institutions will now be invited to submit a stage two application along with additional support materials.

The shortlist encompasses a wide range of innovative and diverse initiatives, spanning everything from a campus wind turbine generator in the carbon reduction category, to a green super computer in the ICT section and a wormery that features as a student entry.

The winners within each category will be announced at a prestigious annual awards dinner to be held at the Imperial College London on 23rd June 2009 in the presence of UK Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property, David Lammy MP. Click here for further information on the awards, or to purchase tickets to the awards dinner.

Commenting on the Green Gown Awards shortlist, Iain Patton, Executive Director of the EAUC, the administrator of the scheme, said; “We are delighted by the fantastic response we have had to the awards this year. In total we received 178 applications, drawn from nearly 100 institutions – representing over a third of the sector as a whole. In fact, applications have increased by more than 200% since the scheme first launched in 2004.

“The high response level and impressive standard of entries, underlines the value and recognition that winning offers, while also highlighting the growing importance of sustainability within the fields of further and higher education.”

The Green Gown Awards are administrated by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) and are sponsored by: - The Carbon Trust, College and University Business Officers (CUBO), the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Salix Finance.

Click here for the full list of shortlisted institutions