SFC news published since 2018. See SFC archived content for earlier news articles.
Photo: Robert Gordon University
The 2024 Green Gown Awards UK and Northern Ireland were held yesterday evening at Edinburgh’s Dynamic Earth in a ceremony attended by over 300 people. The awards celebrate the very best of tertiary education’s work to tackle the climate emergency. This year’s awards showcased 133 finalists from 84 institutions across the whole of the UK and Ireland, including 19 finalists from 14 Scottish colleges and universities.
Edinburgh College was a joint winner of the Benefitting Society award for EC sessions, a project that welcomes young people from across Edinburgh to its inclusive and informal music gatherings. Forth Valley College was a joint winner in the Campus Health, Food and Drink category for its part in developing what is thought to be the UK’s first social impact auditing tool for the food and drink industry.
Christine Calder of Dundee and Angus College was crowned Staff Sustainability Champion, alongside Dr Noha Saleeb of Middlesex University. Christine was recognised for spearheading initiatives to embed sustainability into learning and teaching at the college.
Highly commended at last night’s awards was the University of Edinburgh for its community-led work at Edinburgh’s BioQuarter which introduces STEM careers into local schools and engages with local youngsters. Also highly commended was the University of Aberdeen for creating a publicly accessible sustainability dashboard to help organisations demonstrate progress towards net zero. The University of Aberdeen was further recognised in the SFC-sponsored Creating Impact category for its groundbreaking Student Relocation Travel Emissions Calculator.
Commenting on the results, Charlotte Bonner, chief executive of awards organiser EAUC, said:
“This year’s outstanding winners and highly commended entries for the Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland once again provide an inspiring and diverse array of initiatives, from impactful projects to passionate individuals, all dedicated to advancing sustainability.”
