On the 13th of November 2024 it was the EAUC Green Gown Awards at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh. It was an incredible awards ceremony, and it was inspiring to learn about the remarkable sustainability projects taking place across the HE and FE sectors. We were thrilled to receive a Highly Commended award for our Energy House 2.0 research project and felt so proud to represent the University alongside our amazing colleagues behind our five finalist projects. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Our Five Green Gown Award Finalists
This year we had five sustainability projects that were nominated in this year’s Green Gown Awards, read below to find out about all the amazing finalists.
Lizzie King – Sustainability Champion – Student
First up is MA Contemporary Fine Art student Lizzie King who was a finalist in the category Student Sustainability Champion. Through her studies and the collaborative project ‘Sustaining Photography’ with the University Arts Collection Team, Lizzie used sustainable photography practice to raise awareness, inspire action on the climate crisis and also encourage people to think differently about green spaces. This has inspired many academic colleagues at the the University to create a new photography garden and a research group centred around sustainable practice. Alongside this she has advocated for the University of Salford’s Sustainability Strategy to increase engagement in campus green space and the development of a campus community garden.
Energy House 2.0 – Research with Impact, Institution
The next finalist for this year’s awards was Energy House 2.0 in the Research with Impact (Institution) category. For context, Energy House 2.0 is a one-of-a-kind research facility and world-leading initiative that is forging the way in making our buildings carbon neutral. Energy House 2.0 consists of two environmental chambers with each able to accommodate two detached houses and under controlled conditions can recreate a wide variety of weather conditions including temperatures between -20c to 40c and the ability to simulate wind, rain snow and solar radiation. Through commercial and grant funded research, Energy House 2.0 helps businesses understand how effective their products and services are in lowering consumers’ carbon footprint and reducing energy bills.
MSc Sustainable Air Transport – Next Generation Learning & Skills
Another finalist for this year’s awards was our unique MSc Sustainable Air Transport Operations and Planning course which was nominated in the Next Generation Learning and Skills category. Led by Victoria Myroniuk the course is the first postgraduate air transport programme in the UK that is fully focused on all three pillars of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. The programme had its first student intake in 2021 and became the second air transport postgraduate programme in the UK approved by the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Production Managing the Planet – Next Generation Learning & Skills
Another one of our finalists was our Production Managing the Planet initiative in the Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology which was nominated in the Next Generation Learning and Skills category. The Production Managing the Planet initiative led by Perelandra Beedles is an innovative approach that incorporates vlogging, practical production planning, technology, and critical thinking to embed sustainable practices into a university setting. Delivered as part of several undergraduate and postgraduate film and television production programmes, the initiative encourages media professionals of the future to take action on sustainability.
Friends of Energy House 2.0 – Money for Good
Our last finalist was our Friends of Energy House 2.0 scheme which was nominated in the Money for Good category. It was launched in 2022 as a philanthropic arm to Energy House 2.0, the campaign raises funds from businesses to develop a pipeline of talent in sustainability, raises awareness of climate change issues, encourages the public to reduce their carbon footprint and tackles issues around fuel poverty.
To find out more about the finalists, highly commended entries, and winners across all categories you can go to the Green Gown Award’s Website.