University Success in National Sustainability Awards

The University of Worcester has been recognised in two national sustainability awards, particularly for its efforts to support nature on campus.

The University achieved Silver at the recent Green Apple Environment Awards for its initiatives to promote biodiversity, such as wildflower planting. This initiative also saw the University given Highly Commended in the Nature Positive category of the Green Gown Awards, as well as a further Highly Commended in the Reporting with Influence category, which assesses how sustainability is reported.

Professor David Green CBE DL, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University, said: “We are delighted that our work on sustainability has been recognised once again. Global heating leading to more extreme and dangerous weather, poor air quality which harms the health of so many, diminishing biodiversity and loss of habitat which threatens species, and much more are urgent questions of our time. We are deeply committed to improving our sustainability as an organisation, inspiring our student and staff community to also take positive action, and to work with the wider community in Worcester and beyond in a purposeful, professional, scientific way. We are delighted to support nature thriving on campus. Our wildflower planting is beautiful and has a positive impact on increasing biodiversity and supporting our native British species.”

The Green Apple Awards recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice. This is the 7th Green Apple Environment Award won by the University. The Green Gown Awards recognise exceptional sustainability initiatives by universities and colleges and best practice within the further and higher education sector. The new Nature Positive category highlighted institutions which are taking action to promote nature on their campuses.

The University has established a number of wildflower and grassland sites on its campuses to encourage nature to thrive, while also installing bird and bat boxes as well as planting crops to help farmland birds.

In 2022 the University was one of 117 universities globally to sign up to the Nature Positive Universities Alliance, pledging to work towards reversing biodiversity decline.

The University of Worcester is consistently ranked among the most sustainable institutions in the UK and globally. In 2019 it was named Sustainability Institution of the Year in the Green Gown Awards for UK and Ireland and went on to be Globally Highly Commended at the International Green Gown Awards, at the United Nations in New York. Awarded First Class Honours for sustainability by People and Planet since 2009 every year continuously, the University continues to combine commitment with practical action. The electric charging points at the recently completed, publicly available car park at the University of Worcester Arena is one of the largest electric vehicle charging parks in Europe.