A successful student energy-saving competition has led to Victoria University of Wellington being shortlisted for a prestigious environmental award.
Victoria is a finalist in the Student Engagement category of the 2016 Green Gown Awards Australasia. The Awards recognise excellence in sustainability within the tertiary education sector in Australasia, and are widely recognised as the most prestigious recognition of sustainability best practice within the sector.
Victoria’s nomination is for Vic Energy—an energy-saving competition between Halls of Residence Weir House and Te Puni Village, organised by student Bethany Paterson with support from the Victoria University of Wellington Students Association and the University’s Campus Services.
Over four months in 2015, residents at the two Halls of Residence saved 18,000kWh of electricity (the equivalent of 2.5 tonnes of CO2), generating more than $2,000 in savings, which was used to buy shared bicycles for the Halls of Residence.
For the record, Weir House won the competition, reducing its energy use by 6 percent compared to Te Puni Village’s 3.5 percent reduction.
The competition reached almost 4,300 people through a Facebook page. Vic Energy also resulted in significant changes in residents’ behaviour—87 percent of the residents surveyed after the competition reported changing their attitudes towards energy consumption and behaviour during the competition. The competition is running again this year with four new Victoria University Halls of Residence involved.
Bethany herself has since completed a research paper analysing the behaviour change effects of the competition, and was awarded a $6,000 scholarship by Victoria for the 2015/16 summer to compare the design and impact of the competition against similar competitions from around the world.
Victoria’s Sustainability Manager Andrew Wilks says the Green Gown Award Student Engagement nomination is further recognition of Victoria’s reputation as a leader in sustainability.
“Last year, Vice-Chancellor Grant Guilford won the individual award for Sustainability Leadership, and the University won the award for Carbon Reduction at the Green Gown Awards. These awards recognised a whole range of initiatives at Victoria—from establishing the position of Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Sustainability), to divesting from fossil fuel investments, to reducing carbon emissions by 12 percent despite a growing campus.
“We’re thrilled about this year’s nomination because it shows our students are taking a leadership role in sustainability issues themselves.”
“That’s important—not only for the energy saved during the competition but because of the energy that students might save in future now they know how to.”
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Grant Guilford says Victoria’s repeated success in the Green Gown Awards Australasia testify to Victoria’s credentials as a leading institution for sustainability research and practice.
“We were thrilled to win two Green Gown Awards in 2015 and are honoured to be shortlisted once again in 2016.
“We aim to inspire the next generation of leaders and citizens to adopt sustainability as the norm, as part of our broader mission to prepare globally confident, civic-minded graduates for a future which will increasingly rely on sustainable practices.
“Making the shortlist for the Student Engagement category is a strong signal that we’re well on track to achieve these goals.”
Green Gown Awards Australasia Facts:
- The Green Gown Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Queensland on 3 November 2016.
- In 2016, Victoria University is one of five finalists for the Student Engagement Category.
- In 2015, Victoria University won the award for Carbon Reduction and Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford won the individual award for Leadership.
- The Green Gown Awards were founded in the UK in 2004, and were brought to Australasia in 2010.
- The Awards recognise excellence in sustainability within the tertiary education sector.
- There are eight group awards—of which Student Engagement is one category—and three individual awards.