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The UCL Sustainability Awards is an annual event which celebrates the achievements of staff and students across UCL who have made a contribution to UCL's Sustainability agenda.
Sustainable UCL has collaborated with the Office of the Vice Provost (Education & Student Affairs) and the Office of the Vice Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) to celebrate students and staff who are teaching, researching and working towards a sustainable future.
You can nominate staff, students, yourself and/or your team for one of our five awards. (These are in addition to the Green Impact and LEAF awards which are given to Green Champions for completing the programmes.)
We celebrate sustainability activities which
- 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 UCL's Sustainability Strategy.
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 be 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 nomination deadline date.
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 Engagement) 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 a 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;
- 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 initiative, which contributes to the Signature Campaigns in UCL’s Sustainability Strategy: Change Possible.
Initiatives can be directly linked to the three signature campaigns and below are some examples:
- Wild Bloomsbury: Enhancing green spaces or biodiversity;
- The Loop: Improving recycling and reducing consumption (e.g. water, plastic, coffee cups, meat, fashion, paper);
- Positive Climate: Energy saving initiatives;
Additionally, the team and/or society may have developed an initiative with a broader impact. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Setting up environmental or social societies;
- Campaigning or raising awareness of sustainability issues at UCL or beyond;
- Putting on a sustainability event e.g. conference/film/fair.
- Sustainability Education Award
Sustainable UCL and the Office of the Vice Provost (Education & Student Affairs) 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.
Judging panel
Our panel of judges have strong sustainability experience and knowledge and represent our academic, professional services staff and student communities.
They will choose the winners based on a summary of the guidance above.