University scoops Green Gown Awards

The University of St Andrews scooped three awards at the Green Gown Awards for the UK & Ireland earlier this month.

The University’s Residential and Business Services team were recognised for the ‘Small changes for significant impact on sustainability’ and won the Campus Health, Food & Drink of the year award. By working closely with local farmers, increasing the service of plant-based food options by 50%, selling 23,000 hot drinks in reusable cups, and removing 1056 supply vehicles from the roads, the team have demonstrated how Higher Education campuses across the UK can take action.

Students Millie Sutton and Lottie Evans were awarded the Sustainability Champions of the Year award for their creation of the TESA (Training in Environmental Sustainability Action) module. The module, which aims to provide practical guidance on how sustainable behaviour can be achieved easily by everyone, was taken by more than 12,000 students in September 2020.

Coming highly commended was Tom Dawson, Principal Research Fellow in the School of History at the University, who has been leading a collection of research projects supporting communities to engage with coastal heritage sites before they are lost to climate change. For his engaging approach to research, Tom’s collection of projects were highly commended in the ‘Benefiting Society’ category.

The Green Gown Awards, administered by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) in association with UKRI, celebrate the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the world.