Congratulations to winners of the Sustainability Awards 2018
The Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability is delighted to announce the recipients of our 2018 Sustainability Awards in five different categories.
The University's annual Sustainability Awards offer an opportunity for staff and students to make a difference and contribute to our University becoming more socially responsible and sustainable.
Staff Awards
Staff teams participating in the Office and Lab Sustainability Awards represent schools, departments and research institutes from across the University. We estimate that 30% of University staff have been reached by the Sustainability Awards.
Teams must demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility and sustainability by fulfilling a range of criteria focused on promoting ethical and environmentally-friendly working practices and behaviours. Efforts are then reviewed by trained student auditors, or staff peer auditors in the case of the Lab Awards.
This year’s Awards recipients made an invaluable contribution to social responsibility and sustainability at our University by raising awareness, conserving resources, saving energy, streamlining scientific and research practices and fundraising for good causes.
Congratulations to all of our teams for their hard work and successes in 2018!
Student Awards
The Student Residence Award category is an accreditation scheme that encourages students to work with the University to establish better practices in their halls.
18 teams participated in the fourth year of this scheme. This year also saw more teams reach gold than ever, with six teams achieving the most challenging level.
New categories
The 'Community Partnership Awards' are a new category for this year. They recognise both the positive social impact the winning activities have had and the fact that the winners have worked in partnership with local communities in order to achieve them.
Our other new category, 'Social Responsibility and Sustainability Changemakers', recognises and rewards staff who demonstrate leadership in social responsibility and sustainability and have had a huge impact on other staff and students, despite it not being a formal part of their job description.
Celebration
Office and Labs Awards winners will be celebrated at the upcoming Sustainability Awards Celebration, along with the winners of our Student Residence Award category and other sustainability champions.
The event took place on the afternoon of Thursday 28 March 2019, 12:30 – 15:00, in St. Cecilia's Hall.
View the photos on Flickr View the photos on Facebook
Congratulations to all of this year’s Sustainability Awards recipients! Your enthusiasm, dedication and actions exemplify the attitude required by everyone at the University to create a more socially responsible and sustainable place for us all to work, teach and learn. I thank each and every one of you for the time you have put in, and hope you continue to enjoy taking part.
2018 Sustainability Awards recipients
Office Awards
Office Awards recipients fulfilled a range of social responsibility and sustainability criteria focusing on communications & engagement, energy saving, sustainable travel, resource efficiency, responsible purchasing and staff wellbeing.
17 teams were awarded bronze, silver or gold Office Awards in 2018, including seven new teams. Three teams were awarded gold for designing and implementing projects with a demonstrable sustainability impact, and two teams refreshed their gold status by working through the necessary criteria.
| Team name | Level |
|---|---|
| Easter Bush Campus |
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| Institute for Academic Development |
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| Institute for Genetics and Molecular Medicine |
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| Printing Services |
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| Sport & Exercise |
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| University of Edinburgh Business School |
 Silver |
| The Horsfall Lab |
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| Scottish Student Sport |
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| Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF) |
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| Moray House School of Education |
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| School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
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| School of Mathematics |
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| School of Biological Sciences Admin Services Team |
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| Biology Teaching Organisation |
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| School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
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| Student Rent, ACE |
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| Visitor Centre |
|
Lab Awards
Lab Awards recipients demonstrated compliance with a wide range of sustainable lab practices including efficient use of fume cupboards, management of chemicals and samples, and reducing waste, water and energy consumption.
Nine teams were awarded bronze, silver or gold Lab Awards in 2018, including three new teams.
| Team name | Level |
|---|---|
| Roslin Institute Laboratories |
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| Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF) |
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| Biology Teaching Organisation |
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| SRUC Biomarkers Lab |
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| School of Chemistry |
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| Institute for Genetics and Molecular Medicine |
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| Chemical Engineering Teaching Lab |
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| Denbigh Lab |
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| SCRM Tissue Culture Team |
|
Student Residence Awards
| Team name | Level |
|---|---|
| Baird House |
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| Deaconess & New Arthur Place |
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| O'Shea |
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| Salisbury Court |
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| Sciennes & Ascham Court |
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| Shrubhill |
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| Brae House |
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| Buccleuch Place / Buccleuch Place Lane |
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| John Burnett House |
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| Kincaid's Court & College Wynd |
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| Murano |
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| Richmond Place & Roxburgh Place |
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| Robertson’s Close / Nicholson Street / South College Street |
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| Unite Bridge House |
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| Beaverbank |
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| Chancellor's Court Block A |
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| Hermits Croft / South Clerk Street / East Newington Place |
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| Warrender Park Road / Spottiswoode Street |
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Community Partnership Awards
| Recipient | Awarded for... |
|---|---|
|
Tutoring project for Syrian refugees |
Work in partnership with Edinburgh’s Syrian community to support school attainment, integration and transitions. |
|
Dee Isaacs, for Music in the Community |
A music in the community project with Leith Walk Primary School. Collecting the award on her behalf is project student Nadia Bennett. |
|
Neil Speirs, for Educated Pass |
Work with educational and football partners to boost attainment and progression in young male school pupils. |
|
All4Paws |
Work with local support services to provide free veterinary care to the pets of homeless and vulnerably housed people. |
|
MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine Community Science Engagement Project |
Work with the Craigmillar community to create opportunities to engage with science. |
Edinburgh Local community grants previously funded projects
Social Responsibility and Sustainability Changemakers
| Recipient | Awarded for... |
|---|---|
| Ian Macaulay |
Commitment and leadership in embedding social responsibility and sustainability into the working practices, supply chains and communications of Accommodation, Catering and Events, notably with the Good Food Policy. |
| Velda McCune | Passion in embedding social responsibility and sustainability into your Institute's working practices and for continually inspiring others to undertake their own sustainability journey |
| Sharon Boyd | Embedding social responsibility and sustainability into the Vet School curriculum, and making the link between student experience, student wellbeing and sustainability explicit. |
Awards carried over
Office and Lab Awards remain valid for two years. The following teams hold awards from 2017 and continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to social responsibility and sustainability.
Office Awards
| Team name | Level |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh Global & Student Recruitment and Admissions |
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| Careers Service |
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| Centre for Dementia Prevention |
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| Centre for Open Learning |
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| School of Law |
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| School of Social and Political Sciences |
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| Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine |
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| Bioresearch & Veterinary Services |
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Lab Awards
| Team name | Level |
|---|---|
| MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, Queen's Medical Research Institute |
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| The Horsfall Lab |
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| Chemical and Environmental Engineering |
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| Bioresearch & Veterinary Services |
|
Participate in the 2019 Sustainability Awards
Interested in finding out more about the Sustainability Awards or thinking about getting involved? Let us know by registering your interest. We can put you in touch with an existing team in your area or help you start your own.
Register your interest for 2019
The Sustainability Awards are part of the National Union of Students’ Green Impact environmental accreditation scheme, which runs in over 50 UK further and higher education institutions. The Lab Awards criteria are also based the Green Impact scheme, which itself is based on an updated version of the international S-Lab programme.