Green Gown Awards
Awarded for	Excellence in sustainability efforts
Country	United Kingdom
First awarded	2004
Most awards	International Islamic University Malaysia (international)
Website	www.greengownawards.org

The Green Gown Awards are awards given to acknowledge institutions of higher education such as colleges and universities on their exceptional efforts towards sustainability,^[1] under the purview of the Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges (EAUC), with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).^[2] 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.^[3][4]

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.^[5] Among the most sought-after category is the Sustainability Institution of the Year.^[6]

The first Green Gown Awards were awarded by EAUC in 2004 to institutions of higher education in United Kingdom and Ireland.^[5] 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.^[7]

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).^[6]

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.^[5] The awards were later expanded to French-speaking countries in 2014, as Les trophées des campus responsables.^[5]

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.^[8]

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.^[6]

The International Green Gown Awards have had separate winners in each category for small and large institutions since 2020.^[9]

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.^[10]

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

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

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

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

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

Category	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

Category	Winners
Benefitting Society	Facens University Center	The Chinese University of Hong Kong[a][11]
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
Sustainability Institution of the Year	Polytech Montpellier	Keele University

Category	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
Next Generation Learning and Skills	University of Technology, Sydney
Student Engagement	UCSI University	University of Tasmania
Sustainability Institution of the Year	Dawson College

Category	Winners
Climate Action 2030	Borders College
Benefitting Society	Centro Universitário Facens	International Islamic University Malaysia
Creating Impact	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
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

Category	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

• ^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.