# Green Gown Awards

The Green Gown Awards are awards given to acknowledge institutions of higher education such as colleges and universities on their exceptional efforts towards sustainability, under the purview of the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC), with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The awards are referred to as the "highest recognition given to higher education institutions that carry out sustainability efforts" in reaching the United Nations (UN)'s Sustainable Development Goals.
The original awards, now the Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland, were given to institutions in United Kingdom and Ireland. This was later expanded with the Green Gown Awards Australasia in 2010 and the International Green Gown Awards from 2014. Among the most sought-after category is the Sustainability Institution of the Year.

## Background

The first Green Gown Awards were awarded by EAUC in 2004 to institutions of higher education in United Kingdom and Ireland. These first awards were made in six categories - Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Construction, Transport, Sustainable Procurement, Waste Management, and Water Efficiency, with the categories changing and expanding in later years.
There are two levels of acknowledgement in the awards: Winner (awarded to best institution within a category) and Highly Commended (sometimes awarded as an honourable mention).
In 2010, the awards expanded beyond United Kingdom and Ireland. The original awards programme in those two countries was renamed Green Gown Awards UK & Ireland and another programme was created for the Australasian region, Green Gown Awards Australasia. The awards were later expanded to French-speaking countries in 2014, as Les trophées des campus responsables.
The awards were further expanded to the rest of the world with the introduction of the International Green Gown Awards in 2014, with the first such awards being won by RMIT University (Australia) for the category Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change, Hull College (UK) for Social Responsibility, and Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) for Student Engagement.
Since 2019, the award categories have included Sustainability Institution of the Year, awarded to institutions who sustained a whole-institution commitment and delivered impact towards sustainability while being a sustainable organisation as a whole.
The International Green Gown Awards have had separate winners in each category for small and large institutions since 2020.

## Winners
### International Green Gown Awards

The United Kingdom is the country with the most awards, totalling 15 awards from 12 institutions. The individual institution with the most wins is International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia with six awards, including four awards in one year in 2024, making it also the only institution to win more than two awards in the same year.

#### 2014

| Category | Winners |
| Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change | RMIT University |
| Social Responsibility | Hull College |
| Student Engagement | Manchester Metropolitan University |

#### 2015

| Category | Winners |
| Community Innovation | De Montfort University |
| Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change | Université Laval |
| Student Engagement | Edinburgh College |

#### 2016

| Category | Winners |
| Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change | University of West of England |
| Community | Fiji National University |
| Student Engagement | University of West of England, UWE and University of Bristol |

#### 2017-2018

| Category | Winners |
| Community | University of Tasmania |
| Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change | Canterbury Christ Church University |
| Student Engagement | Chiba University |

#### 2019

| Category | Winners |
| Benefitting Society | Victoria University of Wellington |
| Student Engagement | Ndejje University |
| Sustainability Institution of the Year | McGill University |

#### 2020

| Category | Winners | Winners |
| Benefitting Society | Ayrshire College | Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola |
| Student Engagement | Facens University | University of Strathclyde |
| Sustainability Institution of the Year | International Islamic University Malaysia | Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola |

#### 2021

| Category | Winners | Winners |
| Benefitting Society | Facens University Center | The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Creating Impact | Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana | Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology |
| Next Generation Learning and Skills | Covenant University | University of Gloucestershire |
| Student Engagement | oikos St Gallen | oikos St Gallen |
| Sustainability Institution of the Year | Polytech Montpellier | Keele University |

#### 2022

| Category | Winners | Winners |
| Climate Action 2030 | Chiba University of Commerce | University of Sopron |
| Benefitting Society | De La Salle Lipa | Deakin University |
| Creating Impact | University of Technology, Sydney | University of Technology, Sydney |
| Next Generation Learning and Skills | University of Technology, Sydney | University of Technology, Sydney |
| Student Engagement | UCSI University | University of Tasmania |
| Sustainability Institution of the Year | Dawson College | Dawson College |

#### 2023

| Category | Winners | Winners |
| Climate Action 2030 | Borders College | Borders College |
| Benefitting Society | Centro Universitário Facens | International Islamic University Malaysia |
| Creating Impact | Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola | Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola |
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sustainability | Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences | University of West of England, Bristol |
| Nature Positive | Universidad del Norte | Universidad del Norte |
| Next Generation Learning and Skills | St.Teresa's College | Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola |
| Student Engagement | The University of Faisalabad | University of Otago, Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou |
| Sustainability Institution of the Year | University College Cork | University College Cork |

#### 2024

| Category | Winners | Winners |
| Climate Action 2030 | Asian Institute of Technology | The University of Manchester |
| Benefitting Society | Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | Siam University |
| Creating Impact | International Islamic University Malaysia | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Sustainability | International Islamic University Malaysia | The University of Sydney |
| Nature Positive | Collegio Borromeo | Haramaya University |
| Next Generation Learning and Skills | Glasgow Kelvin College | Singapore Management University |
| Student Engagement | International Islamic University Malaysia | McGill University |
| Sustainability Institution of the Year | International Islamic University Malaysia | Singapore Management University |

## Footnotes

* ^a Although the Chinese University of Hong Kong is located in Hong Kong, the award specifically noted the recipient country as China, not Hong Kong.