Our Sustainability Ethos

The Green Gown Awards (UK & Ireland and International) are delivered by the EAUC - The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education. The Awards sustainability elements are adapted according to the type of event held (i.e. virtual and/or face-to-face).
                             
In the Green Gown Awards continued commitment to sustainability, we will make conscious efforts to reduce the environmental and social impacts of our events by the following:

• ​Together with the Awards Ceremony host venue we will aim to run the Green Gown Awards as sustainably as possible and promote sustainability initiatives and policies wherever possible. 
• The Gala Dinner menu will be vegan and wherever possible locally sourced and Fairtrade. We will work with the catering team to follow recognised food standards and accreditations such as (but not limited to) SRA guidelines, soil association etc..
• ​All catering will be served using non-disposable crockery, cutlery and napkins. Tap water in jugs is provided on each table.
• Where possible we borrow, re-use and/or up-cycle room and table decorations.
• We collaborate with local universities and colleges and invite students to help with music, entertainment, event management and table decorations.
• We do not print any finalist or guest information: venue screens are widely used to promote menus, seating plans, order of service, finalist information, awareness of sustainability initiatives and elements etc.   
• We showcase the finalists online, prior to the event, with links being sent to all guests. The showcase includes a short project description on each finalist, their top 3 project learnings, top 4 SDG goals their project specifically delivers against and carbon savings (if applicable). The ethos being to create awareness of the sustainability projects and to encourage replication.
• We work with the venue AV supplier to ensure LED lighting / equipment is used in efforts to reduce any unnecessary energy usage. 
• All correspondence to finalists, guests, presenters and sponsors will, be sent electronically via email / newsletters and available on our website to minimise waste. This includes online registration and guest ticket confirmations.
• When printing is required for administration purposes (such as the registration of guests on the day, table seating plans etc.), it is extremely limited, printed on 100% recycled paper, and printed back-to-back and recycled.
• Sponsors are promoted electronically on screens inside the event room.
• We encourage delegates to use public transport/car sharing schemes (such as Liftshare) to attend / depart from the event. 
• We have considered the wider diversity of presenters at this event, including ethnicity, disability, and age and tried as much as possible to secure a diverse line-up of presenters.
• Presenters are expected not to knowingly use language which may be deemed to be discriminatory or offensive to any participants. All organising companies/bodies are expected to be tolerant of the beliefs of others and be sensitive to the influence of ethnic and cultural background, the needs of those with disabilities and issues related to gender, marital status, sexuality, socio-economic background and age.​
• Whilst the Awards Ceremony is a black-tie/gala event, it is inclusive of any kind of attire and we do encourage individual, regional, sustainably sourced, and ethical attire. 
• Winners receive a trophy, highly commended a printed certificate and all finalists a PDF certificate. Trophies are made by Adele Billingham from Abglassart, who hand-crafts the trophies from waste cuts of plate glass. You can read more about this here. Highly commended certificates are printed on recycled paper. Certificates to finalists are sent electronically as PDFs.
• The ethos of the Awards is to promote sustainability good practice within and beyond the higher and further education sector. This we do online. We ask all finalists to produce promotional materials to be shared with others. We have created a helpful media and accessibility guidance guide to ensure that communication is accessible to all. 
• Dissemination of finalists' projects continue throughout the year with focus on online presence such as webinars and virtual events. If delivered as a face-to-face event, they are combined within other events that are already taking place (i.e. the EAUC's Annual Conference).

For more information on the EAUC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy, please see our website here.

We welcome ideas or suggestions of how we can improve our conference sustainability ethos, so please do contact us if you have any contributions.

Email us at greengown@eauc.org.uk.