Green Gown nomination recognises environmental efforts
Published On Thu 21 Aug 2014 by Grant Hill
The University of Dundee’s commitment to the environment has been recognised with a nomination for a prestigious Green Gown Award.
Now in their tenth year, the Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities, colleges and the learning and skills sectors across the UK. With sustainable development moving up the global agenda, the Awards are now established as the most prestigious recognition of sustainability excellence within the tertiary education sector, as well as the environmental sector.
The University has been nominated in the ‘Facilities and Services’ category for ‘The 4 R’s of resources’, a project aiming at cutting waste by encouraging students and staff to reduce litter, reuse resources and recycle where possible, rewarding them for doing so.
Environment and Sustainability officer Trudy Cunningham said, “Efficient resource use is at the heart of sustainability in most institutions. Through a combination of reducing, reusing, recycling and rewarding we have reduced our waste and increased recycling and student/staff awareness as well as saving thousands of pounds.
“We are delighted to be nominated for a Green Gown Award in recognition of our war on waste, which we will continue to wage until we have a fully sustainable campus in every single way and fit for the 21st Century.”
Initiatives introduced by the University include the installing 10 ‘Big Belly’ bins, which prevent overflowing by holding seven times as much as conventional bins resulting in a reduction of the number of collections, while their design also makes them seagull proof.
A student freeshop and staff re-use portal encourages them not to throw items away and save money on goods that others give away, while the removal of individual desk bins and introduction of recycling points in offices and corridors across campus has drastically cut waste and increased recycling figures. Dundee also took part in a trial for ‘Reverse Vending’ machines, which reward users with a voucher to spend in campus shops for every can or plastic bottle put into the machines.
The Green Gown Awards are organised by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), a not-for-profit charity with a membership of over 220 universities and colleges that supports sustainability within the UK tertiary education sector. The winners of the Green Gown Awards 2014 will be announced at the University of Manchester on Monday, 3rd November.
“It is fantastic to see more institutions than ever being finalists and the strength and quality of applications is truly inspiring,” said Iain Patton, Chief Executive of the EAUC. “The breadth of activity within the sector shows that sustainability really does bring positive impacts, both on the institution, their staff and students and the wider community. These finalists are proof that where institutions take sustainability seriously they are reaping the benefits.”
More information is available at http://www.greengownawards.org/home
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