Success at the Green Gown Awards 2015

Lancaster University and Lancaster University Students' Union have been awarded the Green Gown Award in the food and drink category for 2015.

Lancaster University, and Lancaster University Students Union (LUSU) have won a Green Gown Award in the food and drink category for their ‘Grow it, Eat it, Live it’ project. Lancaster’s integrated, cutting-edge approach to sustainable food, incorporating projects such as ‘edible campus’, is widely regarded as sector leading.

Together, Lancaster’s Facilities Division and LUSU have developed and implemented a range of complementary sustainable food projects and strategies designed to encourage healthy eating, facilitate and teach growing and cooking skills and encourage student and staff participation.

The project is also focused on driving behaviour change from a sustainable food perspective across the campus and in the local community through embedding and ‘normalising’ these activities.

The Green Gown judges said: “So many strong collaborative elements to this programme mean there are many ways other organisations could learn from Lancaster to embed sustainable food production and consumption across campuses, curriculum and community.”

Professor Mark E Smith said: “Winning this Green Gown Award is a great recognition of the efforts we have put into our cutting edge sustainable food projects. We are extremely proud of our integrated attitude to sustainable food which encourages healthy eating, teaching and facilitating sustainable behaviour, as well as producing a great eating experience.”

The Centre for Global Eco-Innovation, which was devised and led by Lancaster University, also won the ‘Research and Development’ category award. This is the first time that Lancaster University has won two awards in the same year at the annual Green Gown awards.

Jonathan Mills, Carbon and Environment Manager said: “The University and LUSU have won six Green Gown awards since 2009, for sustainability projects covering carbon management, the travel plan, waste management, sustainable building, research and development and sustainable food. This really demonstrates the high quality and breadth of the sector leading sustainability projects we have implemented at Lancaster University.”

The Green Gown Awards bring together the most inspirational projects from across the Higher Education sector and is delivered by the EAUC and is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Lancaster University Green Gown Awards include: 2009, Eco-residences (Residences) 2011, Project Exodus (Student Engagement) 2013, Lancaster University Travel Plan (Carbon reduction) 2014, Lancaster University Wind Turbine (Carbon Reduction) 2015, Lancaster University Grow it, Eat it, Live it, (Food & Drink) 2015, Lancaster University Centre for Global Innovation (Research & Development)