In June 2015 the Environment and Energy Section hosted the University's third Green Impact award ceremony, to celebrate our achievements this academic year in making the University more sustainable, and importantly to award our Green Impact teams for their achievements.
2014-2015 Award winners
Gold
- Downing College – Gold Colleges
- Clare College – Gold Colleges
- Corpus Christi College – Gold Colleges
- Robinson College – Gold Colleges
- Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership – Gold
- Department of Land Economy – Gold
- Maintenance Unit – Gold
- Physiology, Development and Neuroscience – Gold
- University Information Services – Gold
- Institute of Metabolic Science – Gold Labs
- MRC Epidemiology – Gold Labs
Silver
- Alison Richard Building – Silver
- Counselling Service – Silver
- Disability Resource Centre – Silver
- Department of Psychology – Silver
- Development and Alumni Relations – Silver
- Faculty of Education – Silver
- Green Futures Group – University Library – Silver
- Institute of Metabolic Science – Silver
- Madingley Hall – Silver and Honourable Mention for their work in catering and grounds
- Modern and Medieval Languages – Silver
- MRC Epidemiology – Silver
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology – Silver
- Pharmacology – Silver
- Plants Sciences Green Team – Silver
- The Green Genies – Institute of Public Health – Silver
- St Catharine's College – Silver Colleges
Bronze
- Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust – Bronze
- Cambridge University Botanic Garden – Bronze
- Chem Green Imps – Department of Chemistry – Bronze
- Department of Paediatrics – Bronze
- Douglas House –Department of Psychiatry – Bronze
- Mad About Green – Animal Behaviour Unit – Bronze
- Pembroke College – Bronze Colleges
- Psychiatry – Bronze
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair – Bronze
'Working Towards'
- Physical Science – Working Towards
Special Awards
Environmental Improvement Award
Winner:
Institute of Metabolic Science for their work involving Ultra Low Temperature Freezers. ULTs are energy hungry bits of kit, each one reportedly using the same energy as a house. IMS has over 50 of them! Institute of Metabolic Science has added the freezers to an innovative wireless system which allows the team to keep track of set points, ensuring they don’t cool unnecessarily, while monitoring actual performance of the compressors, and whether they require maintenance.
Runner up:
- Clare College for their Staircase Competition.
Student Leadership Award
Winner:
Jamie Osborn, Clare College took up his post of Green Officer almost a year ago and has been exceptionally active and enthusiastic, working closely with key members of staff and with the College's Environment Committee to develop several important initiatives. Among his many ideas, he developed and then worked with housekeeping staff to implement an energy-saving competition among student staircases. Jamie set up Green Formal Halls, which combine talks by University researchers working on improving the sustainability of food production with locally-sourced food and great vegetarian dishes. In addition Jamie has also spearheaded Clare's move to get Fair-trade accreditation, written an important set of guidelines to incoming fresher's outlining the College's carbon footprint reduction aims, and has been a really effective conduit of information between students and staff about what is already going on and what more we can do.
Runner up:
Shilpita Mathews, Land Economy support to initiatives in the University and the community to promote sustainability.
Environmental Hero Award
Winner:
These two winners encapsulate the true spirit of Green Impact, acting as the glue that holds their teams together, and ensuring their success. Dedicated, enthusiastic, even “dynamo”: these have been words used to describe the following individuals who, even in their busiest periods, have kept the momentum of their teams going. I think these two are a true credit not only to their teams and their departments, but also to the University as a whole. We would like to congratulate Kat Millen from Physiology, Development and Neuroscience , and Jamie Brittain from Alison Richard Building for being this year’s Environmental Heroes!
Honourable mention:
The judges wanted to recognise Dick Taplin, Domestic Bursar from Downing College for his tireless commitment to environmental improvement, having entered and won just about every scheme running, notably Student Switch Off, Green Impact, Green League Table, belonging to the only college in Oxford or Cambridge to be registered with the Carbon Trust, and achieving Green Conferencing awards for their facilities.
Congratulations again to all our winners, and here’s to Green Impact 2015-16!