The University of Oxford celebrated its sustainability stars at a prestigious awards event on 12 June, where the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences was awarded a Green Impact Bronze Award.
The Showcase recognises the work that’s been done over the last year by staff and students under various schemes aimed at reducing the University’s environmental impact.
These include the Green Impact scheme, aimed at empowering people to make their workplaces more sustainable, as well as the Student Switch Off, an awareness-raising initiative in which Oxford University’s students once again had the best engagement figures in the country.
The Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences’ Bronze Award was in recognition of the 28 sustainability actions achieved so far in the Radcliffe Primary Care Building. These include improving the availability of waste recycling facilities for all building users, engaging staff on prioritising the most important department green initiatives, improving labelling by printers and dishwashers to support reduced paper and water usage, supporting community charities, and working closely with ROQ Facilities to ensure the building meets basic sustainability criteria.
The department’s Green Impact Team is led by Karen Morecroft, and includes Sarah Morrish, Dan Richards-Doran, Joanna Crocker, and senior champion Louise Locock.
Commenting on the award, Karen Morecroft said:
“We’re really pleased to have been awarded Bronze after just a year in the Radcliffe Primary Care Building - a big thank you to everyone across the department and our undergraduate voluteer who have worked with us to make this happen. There's still a fair way to go before we achieve a Gold Award for our environmentally sustainable working practices, but we have lots of ideas and there’s plenty of scope for innovative and fun projects, so we’re looking for more environmentally conscious volunteers to join us!”
Held at the Sheldonian Theatre and then the Bodleian Library’s Divinity School, the Showcase attracted more than 150 people from across the University. There were awards for the work of nearly 300 people in 33 teams across the University who entered this year’s Green Impact scheme and have taken more than 1,500 actions aimed at cutting the environmental impact of their workplaces, which include laboratories and colleges.
Find out more about the department's Green Impact team (requires Single Sign-On).