Bristol’s two universities’ reputation for excellence in sustainability has been recognised on the global stage with a joint prize at the International Green Gown Awards.
The University of the West of England (UWE) and the University of Bristol were the combined winners of the Student Engagement category at the awards, which champion exceptional sustainability initiatives undertaken by universities and colleges. 
UWE, shortlisted in the contest for the first time, also received an accolade in the Continuous Improvement category.
The awards have three categories – Community Innovation, Continuous Improvement and Student Engagement – and cover all aspects of higher education institutions.
UWE and the University of Bristol worked together on Green Capital: Student Capital, which was triumphant in the Student Engagement category.
Students donated more than 127,000 hours to sustainable activities as part of Bristol’s year as European Green Capital 2015 in the project, which was funded by a grant from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Judges called the project ‘dynamic’ with high levels of student engagement, curricular and extra-curricular activity, and a direct impact on graduate employability.
“It clearly demonstrates a sustainable model for student engagement and is a very worthy winner,” they said.
The two universities faced competition from Glasgow School of Art, Aix Marseille University in France, Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, University of British Colombia in Canada and the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
UWE saw off strong competition from Australia’s University of Technology Sydney and France’s INP Ensat in the Continuous Improvement category for its Sustainability Plan for 2013-2020: Positive Footprint.
Judges praised the plan for its three strong facets: structure, scope and students. They said: “With its scale of impact it epitomised a whole institution-wide approach, embracing all aspects and making it a very worthy winner. With strong methodologies and best practice across the sector, testing new approaches and activities, it offered an array of elements for global replication.”
UWE Bristol earned passage through to the international finals after winning four awards at the UK and Ireland Green Gown Awards 2016 last November. Its competitors were drawn from winners of the Australasia and French-speaking Europe & Canada regional versions of the Green Gown Awards, as well as the victors in the Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability Green Gown Awards for universities in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and North America.
UWE assistant vice-chancellor for environment & sustainability Prof Jim Longhurst said: “I am delighted at this international recognition of the amazing sustainability activities of UWE’s students and staff.
“There are too many people to acknowledge personally but I must note the critical contribution of the Sustainability Board, the Knowledge Exchange for Sustainability Education group and the Green Team in the Students’ Union in winning these awards.
“They are recognition of a long-standing commitment to sustainability and they will encourage us to do more and better things to help create a sustainable future.”
The awards were presented at a ceremony at Lancaster University. To watch a video of the event click here.
