Green gown awards recognition

The work of the University of Leicester has been celebrated at an awards ceremony.

The Green Gown Awards 2016 recognise remarkable sustainability initiatives in UK higher education. The awards ceremony at the Athena is held in partnership between the University of Leicester and De Montfort University.

Sarah Roberts from the University’s Environment Team said: “‘In celebration of the remarkable sustainability work conducted by institutions throughout the sector, the University of Leicester was proud to co-host the Green Gown Awards for 2016 with De Montfort University. For the first time since applying, Leicester was ‘highly commended’ in the category of Enterprise and Employability in recognition of the new Applied Learning in Sustainability programme (APPLES).

“We’ve collaborated with different departments, the Students’ Union, community groups and local businesses in order to give students the best university experience we can. The aim is to create ‘Green Graduates’ and this means a wider understanding of complex sustainability issues that can be tackled using the skills we’ve helped them grow.

“Of course, winning would have been a fantastic result but it shows that we’re clearly on the right path and now just need that little bit extra to make our goals reachable. Other institutions have demonstrated that their recipe for success is achieving top-to-bottom support from all corners of the University; if Leicester can do this – we will certainly get the results we deserve.”