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Photo by Unsplash | Andrej Lišakov

Description

The Sustainability Education Community of Practice will bring together higher education professionals committed to advancing sustainability in teaching and learning. This Community of Practice will explore innovative approaches to curriculum development that empower students to address global sustainability challenges. It will also examine how sustainability education can align with the evolving needs of the global workforce, emphasizing cross-disciplinary skills that enhance effective management, foster attentiveness to human values, and strengthen systems thinking.

Davis Bookhart

Davis Bookhart joined Northeastern University in 2024 as Senior Advisor to the Provost for Sustainability and Professor of Practice in the College of Professional Studies. Prior to this, he spent a decade at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) as the founding director of the Sustainability/Net-Zero Office. Before his time in Hong Kong, he served for eight years as the inaugural director of the Office of Sustainability at Johns Hopkins University. Drawing on a multidisciplinary background, Davis holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a Master’s degree in American Literature from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Ana Margarida Costa

Ana Margarida Costa is the Chief Sustainability Officer and Professor of Practice of Sustainability at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). As the founding head of the KAUST Office of Sustainability, she leads the university’s sustainability strategy, performance, and Climate Action Plan, advancing alignment with the UN SDGs. She teaches sustainability and climate change and works to embed sustainability across education and research. Before joining KAUST, she led international research, consultancy, and academic initiatives in environmental sustainability. She holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences and Master’s degree in Atmospheric Pollution and Environmental Engineering from the University of Aveiro, Portugal.

 

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For a large institution embedding sustainability is a daunting task. The University of Leeds’ solution is a flagship staff engagement programme called Blueprint.

Launched in 2018, Blueprint helps teams to develop bespoke five-year plans that embed sustainability within their operations. Led by the Sustainability Service, Blueprint supports teams to identify and achieve their own sustainability goals, incorporating objectives within their sphere of influence whilst also contributing to university-wide goals, such as achieving Net Zero by 2030.

Blueprint’s unique model supports the diversity of departments at Leeds, placing flexibility at the forefront. Bespoke plans are co-created with staff through scoping meetings and ideation workshops. This enables them to draw out what matters most and what is achievable. Teams are given on-going support, sharing knowledge, insight, and ensuring alignment to institutional sustainability goals.

This approach cultivates a strong sense of ownership, empowering teams to create innovative solutions, and ultimately leading to successful outcomes.

Blueprints contain a range of objectives spanning engagement, environmental and social impact. Examples include increasing sustainability literacy amongst staff and students, reducing energy usage, remodelling waste systems, improving wellbeing, and engaging with community and third sector partners. All Blueprints promote collaboration between teams and across campus to share best practice.

At the start of 2025, there are twenty live Blueprints from a diverse range of Schools and Services. These cover University-wide services such as Cleaning, Catering, Libraries, and Educational Engagement alongside Faculty and School-level teams including Leeds University Business School (LUBS), Biological Sciences (FBS) and Dentistry. Seven more plans are in development.

The range of initiatives delivered are extensive. The LUBS business travel policy encourages adoption of slow travel and is influencing institutional policy creation, contributing to a pilot study. LUBS also created Climate Action Training, open to all staff and students.

The School of Performance and Cultural Industries completed a sustainable procurement review, using their findings to reduce the impact of their performances. Computer Science mapped sustainability in their curriculum, supporting the University’s Sustainable Curriculum programme and identifying routes to embed sustainability into teaching.

The new FBS Blueprint includes a target to achieve Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) accreditation for 100% of their research and teaching labs and is planning to embed sustainability into every job description.

The School of Food Science and Nutrition have 100% gas-free labs and are also aiming for School-wide LEAF accreditation.

Residential Services are one of the longest running teams. They created volunteer days for students, increased charity donations, reduced waste, and funded student projects to create biodiversity action plans and circularity projects across halls of residence.

The success of Blueprint is evident, with the programme embedded across the University. Blueprint’s flexible, people-driven approach means it is suitable for all departments, no matter their size or operational focus. The programme aims to facilitate development of a plan for every department within the University, resulting in a collaborative and supportive network of motivated and passionate teams across the entire institution.

Learn more: Blueprint Program

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Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

Description

The Sustainability Governance & Leadership Community of Practice connects higher education institutions dedicated to advancing sustainability through effective governance and leadership practices. This Community of Practice focuses on embedding sustainability into institutional decision-making, policies, and leadership structures to drive long-term change. Members collaborate to share strategies for fostering leadership buy-in, engaging stakeholders, and creating governance models that support sustainability at all levels. Through knowledge exchange and peer learning, participants empower their institutions to lead the way in building a sustainable future.

John Robinson

John is the Co-Chair of the University of Toronto’s Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS), where he collaborates with Ron Saporta, the university’s Chief Operating Officer and fellow Co-Chair, to drive sustainability initiatives across the institution. Together with CECCS staff, they focus on transforming the university’s approach to sustainability in teaching, research, operations, and community engagement, with a particular emphasis on governance and leadership.

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Photo by Unsplash | Jakub Zerdzicki

Description

The Sustainability Reporting Working Group convenes higher education faculty and staff interested in enhancing transparency and accountability in sustainability reporting. This group provides a platform for participants to collaborate on best practices for tracking, measuring, and reporting sustainability metrics, considering alignment with global standards and frameworks. By sharing methodologies, challenges, and innovations, participants aim to improve the quality and impact of sustainability reporting, helping institutions communicate their progress and drive continuous improvement in their sustainability efforts.

Jen Crothers

Jen is the Senior Project Manager at ISCN, where she manages member relations, communications, and overall operations. With a robust background in project and event management, she brings a wide variety of experience to the team. At The University of British Columbia, she specialized in sustainability reporting related to education and research, particularly in assessing the sustainability content of academic courses.

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Photo by Unsplash | Max Böttinger

Description

The Campus as a Living Lab Community of Practice fosters collaboration among higher education institutions to transform campuses into living laboratories for sustainability innovation and research. This Community of Practice promotes the integration of academic research with campus operations, using real-world challenges to test and implement sustainable solutions. By sharing knowledge, experiences, and best practices, members aim to accelerate the transition to sustainable campus models, empowering students, faculty, and staff to contribute actively to sustainability goals while enhancing institutional impact.

Michael Bossert

Michael is the Manager of Research Innovation and Business Development at Concordia University’s Next-Generation Cities Institute in Montréal. He leads the development of strategy and research, while building an international network focused on Living Labs and Communities of Practice to tackle urban challenges. Michael drives inter- and transdisciplinary projects, connecting government, private sector, citizen groups, academia, and international networks to transform cities and communities in line with the SDGs, the New Urban Agenda, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Manfred Braune

Manfred is the Director of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Cape Town, leading the university’s sustainability strategy across operations, teaching, research, governance, and engagement. With a background as an engineer and green building specialist, he has spent 12 years designing green buildings, followed by 10 years with the Green Building Council of South Africa. In 2019, he joined the University of Cape Town to advance sustainability efforts across the institution.

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Photo by Unsplash | Anupa Uthsara

Description

The Biodiversity Community of Practice brings together higher education institutions committed to advancing biodiversity conservation and restoration through collaboration, research, and knowledge exchange. This Community of Practice focuses on integrating biodiversity considerations into campus operations, teaching and research, responsible purchasing, and community engagement. By sharing best practices and collaborating on biodiversity initiatives, members can lead impactful efforts within their institutions and the broader global community.

Katrin Schweigel

Katrin manages the international sustainability networks for Freie Universität Berlin, where she plays a key role in advancing the university’s efforts toward environmental and social responsibility. With expertise in sustainability governance and institutional change, Katrin works on developing strategies that integrate sustainability into academic, operational, and community practices. Her work supports the university’s commitment to fostering a sustainable future through innovative policies and collaborative projects.

Rebecca Rongstock

Rebecca is the Biodiversity Manager for Freie Universität Berlin, where she collaborates with stakeholders to develop a biodiversity strategy that enhances native urban flora and fauna on campus. Her work bridges biodiversity and conservation research with the planning and management of the university’s green spaces and buildings. As a doctoral student with a background in biodiversity, evolution and ecology, Rebecca’s research focuses on the effects of global change on plant and soil ecosystems.

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ISCN is pleased to announce the winners of the ISCN Awards 2021. The many high-quality nominations received this year reflect the continued commitment and progress towards sustainability across ISCN. Thank you to the ISCN Awards Jury for taking the time to carefully select this year’s winners.

ISCN Awards 2021 Winners:

Whole Systems Approach

Covenant University – PET City Bricks

Partnerships for Progress

University of Leeds – Urban Biodiversity Monitoring Programme

Cultural Change for Sustainability

National University of Singapore – Towards Zero-Waste NUS 2030

Honorary Member Award

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology – Facilitating Sustainability Literacy to Leadership Pathways for Staff and Students

For information on each of the winning submissions, please visit the ISCN Awards Page.

Celebrate with us at the ISCN Awards Ceremony 2021!!

ISCN Awards 2021: Awards Ceremony

20^th May 2021

15:00-17:00 CEST (GMT+2)

(Check the start time in your time zone)

You can join the Awards Ceremony here: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/81853668420  (Meeting ID: 81853668420)

Add the event to your calendar

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ISCN 2021 Awards Speakers:

Opening Speech
Heather Henriksen, Managing Director, Harvard Sustainability

Host
David Havelick, Senior Sustainability Manager, Harvard Sustainability

Presentations from ISCN Awards 2020 Winners:

Whole Systems Approach
Covenant University – PET City Bricks
Abiodun Humphrey Adebayo, Vice Chancellor, Covenant University

Partnerships for Progress

University of Leeds – Urban Biodiversity Monitoring Programme
Michael Howroyd, Sustainability Projects Officer, University of Leeds
Accompanied by Student Ambassadors: Holly Smith, Caitlin Harris & Bethany Eaton

Cultural Change for Sustainability


National University of Singapore – Towards Zero-Waste NUS 2030
Loo Deliang, Chairman, Waste Minimisation and Recycling Taskforce, NUS
Accompanied by Tommy Cheong, NUS Alumnus

Honorary Member Award
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology – Facilitating Sustainability Literacy to Leadership Pathways for Staff & Students
Mark Kelly, Lecturer and Green Campus Chairperson, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
Accompanied by Dermot O’Donovan, Head of GMIT Letterfrack

Whole Systems Approach

Covenant University

PET City Bricks

The pet-city project is aimed at reducing the indiscriminate disposal of waste plastics in our environment. It is focused on reducing the amount of plastic waste degrading our environments and transforming these wastes with sand into interlocking bricks that are suitable for road and low-cost house constructions.

We replace the traditional binding agent of bricks, cement with plastics (melted), thereby significantly reducing the cost of paving roads while also reducing the greenhouse gases emitted during cement production, which amounts to 5% of global co2 emissions. Our production process begins with melting plastic at a temperature of 260 degrees Celsius using our pet liquefier machine. Each brick contains 60 melted plastic bottles, which is equivalent to one kilogram of plastic. After they are melted, sand is added at a ratio to improve fire resistance and overall compressive strength. The mixture is heated and stirred for 30 minutes into a composite mix. The melted plastic with sand is then poured into our unique design mould that separates our PET-bricks from others and adds to our product’s overall aesthetic appeal. Our team developed a collection system that has evacuated more than 300,000 plastic bottles from the streets and has also employed low-income individuals in our immediate environment. The collection process involves assigning job cards to registered individuals and organizations with points based on the weight of the waste plastic collected. These points are translated into rewards that motivate them to separate their plastic waste properly. It also involves independent plastic waste suppliers scavenging these bottles around the community and bringing them to our collection and sorting centre.

In addition, to expand our collection system and remove plastic waste from our environment, we have designed a PET (P) mobile. P-mobile is a cargo bike rider, whom residents alert to come to pick up plastic waste in communities as these waste pile up.

However, our moulding machine is undergoing modifications such that the new version of machine would be auto driven and thereafter patented and replicated for use in other higher institutions of learning across Nigeria and beyond. Also, the local brick manufacturers would benefit from our proposed franchise model, which would enable them to make bricks from plastic waste, thereby reducing the use of cement in brick production. Our franchise model, will recycle 50 metric tons of waste polymers weekly over the next two years, we believe.

Partnerships for Progress

University of Leeds

Urban Biodiversity Monitoring Programme

The University of Leeds is a large city campus with 40,000 staff and students with buildings dating back to the early 18th century. Strategically located at the end of a green corridor into the city, the University has a firm strategic sustainability commitment to become exemplars of urban biodiversity and have a net-positive impact on biodiversity.

We wanted to understand how urban landscapes can be used innovatively to find solutions to problems and aid decision making for campus development. We recognised that previously interventions such as introducing bird boxes or wildflower areas demonstrate little understanding of the interactions between species and habitats and how this can translate to managing an urban landscape. Given this knowledge gap, using the University’s unique Living Lab collaboration approach, the Biodiversity monitoring programme was developed.

The Leeds Living Lab drives the University’s commitment to embedding sustainability through knowledge, engagement, collaboration and innovation by bringing staff, students and partners together to research and test innovative sustainable solutions to improve operations, enhancing our curriculum and providing new learning opportunities to tackle local and global challenges, using the campus as a test bed.

An interdisciplinary partnership formed in 2018, comprising academics, estates staff, Sustainability Services and 3 student ‘ambassadors’, with the following aims:

• Co-create and establish three survey transects.
• Recruit and train student volunteers to complete monitoring activities
• Link activities to improved staff and student wellbeing.
• Analyse and report periodically to the University’s biodiversity group to inform campus development plans.

Once baseline pollinator surveys were complete, the scope was widened to include other species. Throughout 2019, this informed campus developments, such as access works on an old cemetery site owned by the University, where data was used to protect and enhance key habitats and through increased staff engagement where regular species reports have provided ongoing insight into progress.

Next, we plan to develop interactive trails and widen the reach of the work to enable visitors to the campus to learn and benefit. In 2020 we have also appointed a paid student intern to lead and coordinate the project, ensuring ongoing engagement and longevity.

The programme has received international recognition as far as University partners in Japan, USA, has been shared at the Club of Rome UN Youth Summit, more locally with other Leeds city institutions and is to be presented at the ISCN conference in 2021.

Cultural Change for Sustainability

National University of Singapore

Towards Zero-Waste NUS 2030

Singapore is a small island city-state of 728 km2 with land constraint. ~80% of the population live in high-rise public housing with rubbish chutes and recycling bins on the ground floor, making it more convenient to dispose waste than to recycle. Households pay a low, monthly flat waste disposal fee (S$8.25/€5.15). Waste is incinerated and then landfilled in an offshore sanitary island, “Semakau Landfill”. While a national recycling programme was introduced in 2001, the efficient waste management infrastructure facilitates easy waste disposal by residents as the default. Hence, the domestic recycling rate has stagnated at ~20% recently and establishing a waste recycling norm remains a national challenge.

Against this national context, NUS embarked on our Zero Waste journey in 2008 organically through a ground-up initiative by NUS’s student environmental group (NUS SAVE), who introduced Singapore’s first 10-cent plastic bag tax across campus in 2010 which reduced plastic bag use by over 70%. The NUS Waste Minimisation & Recycling Taskforce was established with the development of NUS’s Sustainability Strategic Plan 2017 – 2020. Through staff and student partnership, NUS achieved a three-fold increase in recycling rate – from 9% recycling rate (FY 2012) to 30% recycling rate (estimated) in (FY 2020).

In the next leap of our Zero Waste journey to 2030, we envision NUS to establish a waste sorting and reuse social norm, demonstrating leadership to tackle the national challenge. Through the concept of “Zero Waste Precincts” in NUS (e.g. University Town), we will encourage 50,000 staff and students to diligently minimise waste by reusing as much as possible and correctly sort their recyclables. This will contribute to a doubling of the campus recycling rate to 60% by 2025. By 2030, we aim to achieve a 90% diversion rate. This vision fulfils NUS’s role in public service to shape our students’ hearts and minds to be future professionals and champions of sustainability.

The Precincts will demonstrate the feasibility of achieving high recycling and diversion rates in the near term. They will be living labs where campus infrastructure are testbeds for rapid prototyping of zero-waste solutions, in collaboration with corporate partners for eventual scale-up in Singapore.

NUS launched the “Towards a Zero-Waste NUS 2030 Action Plan” in August 2020 with Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability & Environment and the “Zero Waste Testbed Initiative” in January 2021 with Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability & Environment.

Honorary Member Award

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology

Facilitating Sustainability Literacy to Leadership Pathways for Staff and Students

The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology is a multi-campus higher education institute in the West of Ireland with approximately 6,500 students and nearly 800 academic staff. We have been actively involved in the national Green Campus programme since its inception back in 2010 with the GMIT Mayo Campus becoming the first Institute of Technology to be awarded a Green Flag in 2011. The aim of this project is facilitating learning pathways for both students and staff to transition from sustainability literacy to sustainability leadership through lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Phase 1 consists of:

A SDG Leaders initiative, where 5 SDG Leaders (1 per campus) and 2 SDG Mentors undertake a SDGs curriculum mapping exercise, which will inform an institutional programme review commencing in September 2021.

The transition of our Level 9 10-credit Education for Sustainability module to a fully online format to facilitate wider engagement across the higher education sector in Ireland.

The establishment of a GMIT Sustainability Hub on the staff and student internal Share-Drive to provide a one-stop-shop for all things related to sustainability.

This work directly informs Phase 2 of the project, which consists of the following:

Both staff and students will complete an ‘Introduction to Sustainability and the SDGs’ micro-course followed up with Sustainability Literacy workshops. Initially, this will be targeted at all first-year students and new staff entering GMIT in September 2021 as part of their induction programmes. After completion, participants will progress to Phase 2.

Staff and students (in collaboration) will be invited to submit for funding under a Green Action Fund, where micro-grants of €1,000 will be distributed to selected projects across the five campuses. Multi-disciplinary collaboration is strongly recommended with each project group assigned a Green Action Mentor for support. Each project team will have to present their results and findings at an end-of-year symposium where they will be awarded a Sustainability Champion Digital Badge. Participants can then progress on to Phase 3.

Staff who complete the Education for Sustainability module and participate in the Sustainability Leaders Train-the-Trainer workshops will be eligible to apply for a Sustainability Leader Digital Badge. Students who complete the Level 8 5-credit Civic Engagement elective module and participate in the Sustainability Leaders Train-the-Trainer workshops will be eligible to apply for a Sustainability Leader Digital Badge. Both staff and student Sustainability Leaders will be then invited to become part of the facilitation team in subsequent years.

ISCN Awards Jury 2021

The ISCN Award Jury 2021 was comprised of 2020 ISCN Award winners, selected ISCN members to ensure representation of the ISCN’s global membership, and an external international expert.

A warm thanks to our ISCN Awards 2021 jury members who were:

Winners from 2020 –

• Whole Systems Approach: Kristina Von Oelrich, KTH (Europe)
• Partnerships for Progress: Kati Koikkalainen, LUT University (Europe)
• Cultural Change for Sustainability: Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, Thammasat University (Asia)

ISCN Member Jurors – 

• Shana Weber, Princeton University (North America)
• Alexandra Aguilar, UNAM Mexico (South America)
• Nadeem Gafieldien, Stellenbosch University (Africa)

External Expert Juror –

• Eric Howard, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Second Nature (North America)

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