Awards

Below are some of the sustainability related awards UTS and our people have won in the past few years. A number of UTS’s new buildings, refurbishments and fitouts have also achieved various awards. Details here

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Danielle McCartney – Head of Sustainability Strategy, UTS

Climate change poses significant threats and we face numerous ever-evolving societal challenges. As educators at the forefront of research, technology, and innovation, UTS is investigating these complex challenges and developing creative and innovative solutions. 

The Sustainability Strategy outlines UTS’s sustainability vision and aspirations, setting the long-term direction towards a more sustainable university. 

The Strategy fosters sustainability values and principles for students, staff and the wider community. It embeds sustainability into core activities and identifies clear success measures, goals and targets.

Alexandra Fransen - Sustainability Coordinator, UTS

UTS is looking to embed sustainability knowledge, capabilities and values across our curriculum to ensure our graduates are empowered change agents and leaders in their profession. 

We are building the knowledge and capacity of our staff to make sure we’re able to do this across teaching, research, and our operational activities

Professor Stuart White – Director, UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures

I think UTS has a unique contribution because of the way it partners with industry in order to achieve many of its goals in research. We’re talking about solutions to the problems that the world faces whether in energy, in international development, or in circular economy. So we’re focused not just on how the world is, but how the world could be.

Danielle McCartney – Head of Sustainability Strategy, UTS

As part of our Climate Positive Plan, we’ve committed to Net Zero for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025 and to becoming Climate Positive by 2029. We’ve already divested from fossil fuels and maximised our rooftop solar, and we have solar and wind agreements in place. 

As well as reducing our campus carbon footprint, UTS is focusing on the circular economy, such as our award-winning plastic-free food court. We’re also leaders in transparently communicating our progress through our annual Sustainability Report and Sustainability Impact Dashboard.

Achieving our sustainability goals requires consistent and ongoing positive changes to our activities, systems and processes, and behaviour. UTS is committed to finding practical solutions to real-world problems through our research and leveraging our partnerships locally and globally.

2024

• Winner - Green Gown Award, Sustainability Institution of the Year for “UTS Making a Splash in Global Impact” highlighting UTS’s comprehensive integration of sustainability practices. 

2021

• Winner - Green Gown Award, Creating Impact category for the UTS Central Plastic Free Food Court.
• Winner - Green Gown Award, Next Generation Learning and Skills category for the BCII (Industry Innovation Projects subject). 
• Finalist - ACTS Award of Excellence - staff category, Klara Janickova for her volunteer work doing marine underwater clean-up. 

2020

• Winner - Green Gown Award, Outstanding Leadership Team category for the cross-campus circular economy food waste processing project.
• Winner - Australian Museum Eureka Prize, outstanding early career researcher category - Dr Qilin Wang for his work (in collaboration with David Booth) on green technologies to improve sewerage treatment plants.
• Winner - L’Oreal UNESCO For Women, and TIME Magazine Next Generation Leader – Dr Emma Camp for her work on resilient corals.
• Finalist - Green Gown ACTS Award of Excellent, student category – Miranda Crossley for her work on climate engagement and activism.
• Finalist - AFR Higher Education Awards, sustainability category for the Plastic Free Food Court.

2019

• Winner - TEFMA Clever Campus Awards, Continuous Improvement category. 

2018

• Highly Commended - Smart Cities Award for the district energy sharing project between UTS and Central Park.
• Highly Commended – NSW Government Green Globe Award for sustainability achievements across the organisation over the past 10 years (public sector leadership award).
• Finalist – ACTS Award of Excellence (staff) to Alice McAuliffe for her work on the Waraburra Nura indigenous garden.

2017

• Winner – NSW Government Travel Choices Award, Initiative of The Year category for Walk to UTS Day.
• Winner – Technology Against Poverty prize awarded by Google and InnovationXchange to UTS Professor Saravanamuth Vigneswaran and Dr Tien Vinh Nguyen for their project to remove arsenic from drinking water in the Red River Delta of Vietnam.
• Winner - Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards, Learning Experience category awarded to UTS Hatchery, where students tackle ‘wicked’ sustainability problems.
• Finalist - New York Festival International Radio Program Awards, Environment and Ecology category to Think Sustainability radio program and podcast on Radio 2SER.

2016

• Winner – ACTS Green Gown Award (continuous improvement category). 
• Winner - NSW Blue Star Sustainability Award. UTS sustainable building program (sustainable systems award category).
• Highly commended – ACTS Green Gown Award. For the THINK Sustainability radio program made in collaboration with radio 2SER (community engagement category).
• Highly commended – ACTS Award of Excellence (staff). Daisy Amanaki for her voluntary work facilitating and organising the donation of five container loads of used furniture and books to schools in the Cook Islands.
• Finalist – NSW Government Green Globe Award, For sustainability achievements across the organisation over the past 10 years (public sector leadership award)
• Finalist – NSW Government Green Globe Award. For Australia’s first off-site solar corporate power purchase agreement (innovation award).

2015

• Winner - NSW Government Green Globe Award. UTS building 7, (built environment sustainability, commercial property category).
• Winner - Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air-conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) Awards. UTS building 7, (excellence in sustainability category).
• Winner - Architecture and Design Sustainability Award. UTS building 7, (public building & uban design category).
• Winner - UTS Green Hero Award, Daisy Amanaki for initiating and coordinating the donation of furniture to schools in the Cook Islands.
• Finalist - UNEP United Nations Association of Australia: World Environment Day Award. UTS building 7, (green building award category).

2014

• Winner - AIRAH Awards, The Denis Joseph Award for Innovative Use of Solar Energy in HVAC&R, claimed by NEP Solar for its work on the micro urban power station at the new UTS Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology Building (building 11).
• Winner - Banksia Award, to Better Buildings Partnership, Innovator of the Year. 
• Winner - UTS Green Hero Awards. Laurence Stonard for building his own sustainable home incorporating a large proportion of re-used materials. 
• Highly commended - National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) NSW Excellence Awards. UTS building 11 (commercial, large project category).
• Highly commended - NSW Government Green Globe Awards. UTS building 11 (commercial and residential, built environment sustainability category).

2013

• Winner - ACTS Award of Excellence (Individual). UTS student Natasha Lay for volunteer work as a young international climate campaigner and coordinator with Australian Youth Climate Coalition.
• Winner - Ashfield Citizen of the Year. Nick Chapman for his contribution to the GreenWay project in Sydney’s Inner West, an urban land corridor including habitat preservation, recreation and environmental education.
• Winner - UTS Green Hero Award. Vahid Vakiloroaya for his award winning research on new generation solar hot water heating.
• Highly commended - ACTS Green Gown Learning and Teaching Award. Dr Paul Brown for his work as part of a team in the UTS Business School integrating energy efficiency into the accounting curriculum.
• Highly commended - NSW Government Green Globe Awards. Awarded to Dr Brown and team for the same project above.

2012

• Winner - International Green Gown Award. Awarded to the UTS Students’ Association for Bluebird Brekkie Bar (best student campaign or initiative category).
• Winner - National Green Gown Award. Awarded to the UTS Students’ Association for Bluebird Brekkie Bar (best student campaign or initiative category).
• Winner - NSW Green Globe Award for Environmental Leadership and Innovation. Awarded to the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures for research on global phosphorous depletion.
• Winner - Eureka Science Prize for environmental research. Awarded to Dr Dana Cordell and Professor Stuart White from the Institute for Sustainable Futures for research on global phosphorous depletion. 
• Winner - NSW Science and Engineering Award. Professor Guoxiu Wang for research on renewable energy technologies (renewable energy innovation category). 
• Winner - UTS Green Hero Award. Chris Dunstan for his work on energy efficiency.

2011

• Winner - International Water Association, Project Innovations Award. Awarded to the Institute of Sustainable Futures for the Can Tho Sanitation Options project and research for the Vietnamese city of Can Tho.
• Winner - Banksia Award, Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research Award. Awarded to the Institute for Sustainable Futures for research on global peak phosphorus.

2009

• Runner up - Banksia Award. (large organisations category).