Sustainability champions recognised at Green Impact celebration

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Group photo of Imperial College London's Green Impact award winners

Imperial hosted an awards ceremony at 170 Queen’s Gate to celebrate the achievements of its inaugural Green Impact teams.

Green Impact is an online sustainable action platform, providing a toolkit for effective activities that colleagues can take as teams to improve sustainability across Imperial and at home. Actions completed by teams translate into points on the toolkit, contributing towards their overall score. 

The UN-award winning programme is run internationally by SOS-UK (Students Organising for Sustainability UK) which has been tailored to align with Imperial’s Sustainability Strategy 2021-2026 and goal to be achieve carbon net zero campuses by 2040.  

In Imperial’s first year, 27 teams across the organisation registered and introduced over 500 actions in place on themes such as energy, biodiversity and waste. The teams engaged more than 3,500 colleagues and students with their actions and initiatives. The programme also provided 30 students with IEMA level training in their roles as auditors. You can read the full report on our Green Impact webpage

Photo of Lucy Talis from SOS-UK presenting at Green Impact awards

Many congratulations to our Green Impact award winners and all those who have got involved in the successful first year of this scheme at Imperial. Harriet Wallace Director of Sustainability

At the awards ceremony on 23 January 2025, we were joined by special guests Lucy Talis from SOS-UK, and Imperial’s Director of Sustainability, Harriet Wallace, who commended the teams for helping drive our sustainability agenda. 

Harriet Wallace said: "Many congratulations to our Green Impact award winners and all those who have got involved in the successful first year of this scheme at Imperial. You have been trailblazers in local sustainability action and your stories will hopefully inspire and encourage more colleagues to get involved in the next round of Green Impact starting this Spring." 

Congratulations to all our award winners listed below.  

Bronze – achieved over 80 points from across the toolkit.  

  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering 
  • FoNS Faculty Office 
  • Synthetic Biology Hub 

Silver - achieved over 160 points from across the toolkit. 

  • Centre for Haemotology 
  • Centre for Inflammatory Disease 
  • Surgery and Cancer 
  • UK Dementia Research Institute 

Gold - achieved over 240 points from across the toolkit. 

  • Chemistry 
  • Civil and Environmental Engineering 
  • Grantham Institute 
  • Research Office

Special awards: 

  • Environmental Improvement - Bin the Bin (Civil and Environmental Engineering)

"Our team started a pilot program in eight offices, replacing individual desk bins with a shared recycling bin and general waste bin. The reduction in plastic bags was immediate and significant. This action saved plastic, eased the burden on cleaning staff, and encouraged staff to dispose of waste more responsibly." 

  • Innovation for Engagement – Research Office  

"The Research Office Green Impact team initially comprised of four individuals. However, through organising a range of activities they were able to engage the entire office. Including through organising a launch week with a selection of in-person activities for staff to sign up to; recruiting Green Impact Champions from each of the five sub-teams in the office, to ensure messaging was shared within every team and engaging family and friends as well as external stakeholders with sustainable practices." 

  • Sustainability Hero – Laura Crouch (Research Office) 

"Laura’s enthusiasm shines bright and is infectious! This drives her ability to motivate all Green Impact champions and sustain momentum for promoting and embedding sustainable values within the office. Laura planned and implemented a hugely engaging Green Impact launch week in the office, which massively increased visibility and awareness for environmental issues. She also sets a fantastic personal example which has made individual actions seem relatable and possible." 

  • Community Action – Grantham Climate Art Prize 

"The competition invited 11 – 25-year-olds across Great Britain to design a mural with the theme “A Greener, Cleaner Future World”. It aimed to draw attention to the climate crisis while inspiring communities to take action to reduce emissions and improve their environment. The diverse group of 1,200 young people who took part said that the competition had inspired them live more sustainably and talk to others about the importance of climate action." 

  • Student Leadership – Alison Provost (Civil and Environmental Engineering) 

"Ali has demonstrated strong leadership in advancing sustainability initiatives, including in the areas of procurement and waste management. Ali’s leadership and initiative have also been instrumental in expanding our Green Impact team. By identifying and recruiting several new members, she has had a tangible impact on our department's environmental footprint and sustainability culture." 

Photo of Civil and Environmental Engineering Green Impact team with their special award
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Green Impact team representatives with their Environmental Improvement award.

Stay tuned for the next cycle of Green Impact launching in March 2025! You can subscribe to our Sustainable Imperial newsletter to keep up to date on sustainability at the university and any opportunities to get involved. 

Check out the full photo gallery from the awards ceremony and see what you could be part of next year!

Reporter

Jess Money

Jess Money
Office of the President

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Environment, Sustainability, Sustainable-Development-Goals, Net-Zero, Climate-change
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