St John's wins gold in Green Impact Awards
In June 2025, the University's Environmental Sustainability team held its end-of-year celebration at William Osler House in Headington. This was an opportunity to reflect on the past year's [progress toward the University's sustainability goals and to highlight new initiatives across colleges and departments.
A highlight of the Sustainability Showcase was the recognition of various Green Impact teams, who received either Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Beyond Gold awards for their contributions. Building on its Bronze award in 2024, St John’s College was awarded Gold in 2025: a testament to the exceptional contributions of staff and students advancing environmental sustainability.
The award itself is made from reclaimed shelves formerly in the Radcliffe Science Library.
Tom Noakes, Operations Manager, put together St John's award submission, highlighting the following environmental successes for the 2024/25 academic year. These include:
- Stopping the use of disposable takeaway containers in Hall, issuing all students and staff with a re-usable container.
- Installing a wildlife ‘drink station’ in the gardens as well as hedgehog and insect piles and bird houses in the trees.
- Using leaf and grass clippings to create compost for the gardens
- Changing waste contactor to Select, allowing for more separation of waste and recycling opportunities.
- Our waste contractor has visited College to deliver two presentations to students and staff about waste separation and recycling. They also had a stall in our Freshers Fair.
- Our Accommodation Department has moved over to a supplier of more ecologically friendly products.
- We have also worked with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOT) on enhancing the biodiversity of our outdoor spaces.
These new initiatives are all part of the College's commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability. Well done to all involved with the award!
You can read more about sustainability at St John's here.