Edinburgh College Students’ Association (ECSA) has been highly commended at the Green Gown UK and Ireland Awards 2022 for the success of its Go Green project over the past two years.
ECSA was highly commended in the Student Engagement category of the awards finals which were hosted as part of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) conference held in Loughborough last night (Tuesday 8 November 2022).
The success comes in recognition of ECSA’s Go Green project which ran from April 2020 to June 2022 and focused on active travel, climate education, food waste reduction, and clothing re-use. Despite the project running through the global pandemic, almost all original targets were exceeded – engaging more than 3,000 students and diverting a total of around six metric tonnes of food and clothing from waste.
As part of the project, ECSA introduced Go Green Hubs at each of the College’s campuses which comprise of Community Fridges and Clothing and Accessories Swap Shops, allowing students to collect free food, clothing, accessories and books, and as a result have prevented items from going to landfill while helping to alleviate poverty during a financial crisis. The team also delivered Climate Change and Sustainability workshops to classes across the curriculum.
ECSA was the only Students Association shortlisted across all categories and one of only two colleges named as a Student Engagement finalist.
Al Wilson, ECSA Director, said:
“We are delighted to have been highly commended at the prestigious Green Gown Awards. It is fantastic that our work on sustainability through the Go Green project is getting national recognition and I’m so pleased for everyone involved in running the project which has been important in engaging students with Sustainability, as well as helping to alleviate poverty in our student community. We are now focused on continuing this work for the rest of session 2022/23 and beyond.”
Jon Buglass, Vice Principal, said:
“Congratulations to ECSA on the brilliant achievement of being highly commended at the Green Gown Awards. The Go Green project has been a tremendous success and it’s fantastic to see that work continuing with the campus Community Fridges and Swap Shops being used regularly by students. As a College we’re committed to engaging with students and staff about Sustainability and ECSA plays a vital role in ensuring we maximise that engagement right across the student body. Congratulations to everyone involved in this richly-deserved success.”
Find out more about the Green Gown UK and Ireland 2022 Awards here: https://www.greengownawards.org/2022-finalists-new.