Sustainability award selection for University of Auckland

Sustainability award selection for University of Auckland
Media Release
University of Auckland
24 September 2014

Sustainability award selection for University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is a finalist for the 2014 Green Gown Awards Australasia.

The awards recognise excellence in sustainability and environmental performance improvement. This success was gained in the category for “Continuous Improvement - Institutional Change”.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 6 November in Hobart as part of the annual Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) conference.

The University’s Sustainability and Environment manager, Dr Lesley Stone, says, ”We are excited to know that we are up there among the best of our Australian and New Zealand peers when it comes to continually working to improve our environmental performance and making demonstrable progress towards becoming a sustainable university.”

“The University has come a long way since the early 1980s when we first started monitoring and managing energy and water,” says Dr Stone. “While our efforts since then have saved more than 18 billion litres of water and 712 million kWh of energy, (for an accumulated value of more than NZ$130 million), we’ve also recognised that sustainability is about so much more, and so we continue on this journey to a sustainable future.”

“Despite tripling our student numbers and doubling our gross floor area in the past 30 years, the University has had considerable success in minimising our environmental footprint,” she says. “We have continued to improve the efficiency with which we use resources, and to minimise our wastes and emissions.”

“We have also engaged decision-makers and senior managers, as well as staff and students from across the university, in activities that respond to their concerns and enable them to take action in ways that are consistent with, but also enhance their existing roles and responsibilities,” says Lesley. “By measuring and using results to continuously notch up commitment, we are well set up to continue on this journey.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media