UCL Sustainability Awards 2026: Nominations now open!

Nominate staff, students, yourself and/or your team for one of our five Special Sustainability Awards. These are in addition to the Green Impact and LEAF awards which are given to Green Champions for completing the programmes.

We aim to celebrate a diverse range of sustainability activities that:

• Empower students and staff to champion sustainability during their time at UCL;
• Embed sustainability into our operations including our planning, processes and culture;
• Co-create debates and sustainable solutions through research and teaching;
• Reward exceptional staff, students and groups who are contributing to working towards UCL's Sustainability Plan.

When nominating, you must choose one of the below categories. During the judging process, the panel may move the nomination to another relevant category. 

Award categories

Staff Award for Outstanding Commitment to Sustainability

This award is for an exceptional staff member at UCL who has been leading environmental and/or social change at UCL.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Embedding sustainability into departmental/faculty policies and core functions e.g. making events sustainable, creating a sustainability business plan, making departments vegetarian or paperless, ensuring labs are efficient, or enhancing green space across the institution;
• Creating a network for sustainability students or staff to collaborate;
• Putting on events to raise awareness around sustainability.

Student Award for Outstanding Commitment to Sustainability

This award is for an exceptional student (undergraduate or postgraduate) who has been leading environmental and/or social change at UCL.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Setting up environmental or social societies;
• Embedding sustainability into the core functions of UCL's student union, accommodation, department or student society;
• Campaigning or raising awareness of sustainability issues at UCL or beyond;
• Putting on a sustainability event e.g. conference/film/fair.

Sustainability Research Award

Sustainable UCL and the Office of the Vice Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Experience) would like to celebrate the research of staff and students (undergraduate or postgraduate), who have led to a positive outcome for the environment and society, at UCL or beyond. This could be as part of a dissertation, PhD, research programme or other type of research initiative.

We are looking for examples of demonstrable impact which will be judged on the following basis:

• Degree of cross-disciplinary collaboration;
• Influence on the wider research community at UCL;
• Research impact beyond UCL;
• Extent to which the research proposes solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or other environmental or social challenges.

Examples of research topics include, but are not limited to:

• Changing public policy;
• New innovations in technology;
• Changes in societal understanding/behaviour change;
• Modifying/challenging industry practices.

Sustainability Impact Award

This category focuses on the work of teams and/or societies at UCL, who have undertaken an environmental or social project/initiative, which contributes to one or more of the areas of UCL’s Sustainability Plan, and has had demonstrable impact. Nominations should be for projects, groups, societies, or teams - nominations for individuals should be considered instead for other relevant categories.

Initiatives or projects might include, but are not limited to:

• A cross-function collaboration between UCL professional services teams to reduce the impact of an area of operations;
• A student society campaign or event;
• Campaigning or raising awareness of sustainability issues at UCL or beyond;   
• A campaign or project delivered by staff Green Champion teams within their department.

The nomination should include examples of measurable impact. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Number of staff/students engaged or in attendance;
• Estimated tonnes of CO2 saved;
• Estimated weight of waste saved;
• Number of pledges/sign-ups collected.

Sustainability Education Award

Sustainable UCL and the Office of the Vice Provost (Education & Student Experience) would like to celebrate staff or postgraduate students who have integrated sustainability into either the formal or informal curriculum. This could be through the development of academic or voluntary programmes or community involvement schemes.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Developing a sustainability related module;
• Integrating sustainability into modules across a programme;
• Providing sustainability related participatory learning;
• Facilitating sustainability related coursework or Living Lab projects Organising a sustainability induction for students.

Awards ceremony event 

Our Sustainability Awards event is open to all UCL staff and students. This year the ceremony is taking place at UCL East and will be followed by a celebratory lunch and drinks. To book your free ticket please visit the event page here. 

Eligibility

UCL staff and students (undergraduate or postgraduate) are eligible for the awards. Groups of students and/or staff working in a team or society can also be nominated. Self-nominations will also accepted.

To be eligible for nomination, staff and students must be either employed by UCL or registered as a student at UCL, at the point of nomination, or have been employed by/registered with UCL within the academic year preceding the nomindation deadline date.

Deadline to nominate: Friday 12th June 

Please allow 15 minutes to complete the form. All nominees will be notified of their nomination and invited to the Sustainability Awards Ceremony on the 16th July. Nominators will also be informed and invited. 

Fill in the short form to nominate someone

Judging panel

Our panel of judges have strong sustainability experience and knowledge and represent our academic, professional services staff and student communities. Our judges for the 2026 awards will be announced shortly.

2025 winners

Read about last year's winners.

Contact us

The UCL Sustainability Awards 2026 are organised by Sustainable UCL. If you wish to contact us for any reason, please email sustainableucl@ucl.ac.uk.