Forever Keele eZine Winter 2020-21 | Page 3

Keele news

As we emerge from another lockdown , we reflect on what has been an unusual and difficult year . It therefore feels more important than ever to celebrate successes when they happen . Here we share some of Keele ’ s recent achievements and celebrate the accomplishments of our alumni around the globe .
Keele University shortlisted for Sustainability Institution of the Year
Keele University has been named as a finalist in four prestigious Green Gown Award categories which celebrate sustainability in higher education , including Sustainability Institution of the Year .
The nominations recognise Keele ’ s commitment to embed sustainability across campus , including in its research , education , operations and community engagement .
The University has been nominated for awards in the following categories :
Sustainability Institution of the Year category : Creating change through collaboration between staff , students , businesses and the community .
Benefitting Society : Smart Energy Network Demonstrator ( SEND ) and the Keele Research and Innovation Support Programme ( KRISP ) - Supporting Staffordshire businesses for sustainability .
Research with Impact : HyDeploy - A research and innovation partnership for decarbonising the nation ’ s gas network , that has transformed Keele campus into a unique ‘ living laboratory ’, to drive the clean energy transition required to achieve the UK ’ s ambitious climate change commitments .
Sustainability Champion - Staff category : Dr Katherine Haxton , Senior Lecturer in Chemistry , is a sustainability champion at Keele and has created two modules that highlight real-world challenges that must be tackled by chemists to create a more sustainable society .
The winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony to take place in Spring 2021 . In 2019 , Keele was one of the first UK universities to declare a ‘ climate emergency ’ and announced an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2030 . Keele has also reduced its carbon emissions by 39 % exceeding its 2020 target . Keele has also launched its new Institute for Sustainable Futures to drive research into issues such as climate change , food security and clean energy on a local , national and global scale .
Professor Mark Ormerod , Deputy
Vice-Chancellor and Provost and the Institutional Lead for Sustainability , said : “ I ' m delighted that Keele has been shortlisted for the Sustainability Institution of the Year award , as well as three other awards , highlighting our sector-leading approach and commitment to sustainability , and our sustainability activities across all aspects of our campus and community , as well as our research , education , and external engagement and partnership activity .”
Professor Zoe Robinson , Director of Education for Sustainability , said : “ It is great to see Keele ' s sustainability activities recognised by being shortlisted across a wide range of activities while also highlighting the excellent leadership from individual staff such as Katherine .
" Being shortlisted as Sustainability Institution of the Year highlights the strength of our whole institution approach and our commitment to ' embed sustainability in everything we do ', from the campus estate and operations , our research and education , and business and community engagement ."