Published: 21 July 2021 at 11:27
Anglia Ruskin is shortlisted for the Sustainability Institution of the Year award
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has been named as a finalist in the 2021 Green Gown Awards, which celebrate the best sustainability initiatives taking place at universities and colleges across the UK and Ireland.
ARU is shortlisted in both the Sustainability Institution of the Year category and the Next Generation Learning and Skills category, with the winners being announced at the annual Green Gown Awards ceremony in November.
The Sustainability Institution of the Year nomination focuses on the breadth of work being done across ARU to meet sustainability goals.
It recognises that ARU has embedded sustainability in all aspects of university life, with ARU’s Sustainability Strategy including a number of challenging key performance indicators (KPIs) covering students, research and innovation, university operations, and the wider community. The Sustainability Strategy includes a commitment for ARU to become net zero (without offsetting) by 2045.
The Global Sustainability Institute was launched by ARU in 2011 to lead on sustainability research across the university, and the GSI also runs the successful MSc in Sustainability, in conjunction with the Eden Project. A new cross-university research theme on Sustainable Futures has started this year, while the Education for Sustainability team help academics embed sustainability into every course.
ARU’s nomination in the Next Generation Learning and Skills category focuses specifically on the exciting Ruskin Modules initiative, which will see students from different degree courses work together – outside their own discipline – to find solutions to some of the most pressing problems facing society today.
Closely matching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, these are core modules that every student will complete. Over 50 Ruskin Modules have been developed and the first 20 will be launched this September.
James Rolfe, Chief Operating Officer of ARU, said:
The Green Gown Awards are organised by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC). Iain Patton, CEO of EAUC said: