Gold Sustainability Award for Pembroke’s Green Impact Team

Pembroke has been awarded Gold in the University of Oxford’s 2026 Green Impact Awards. This is the second consecutive year that Pembroke has won the Gold award, a testament to the sustained efforts of our students and staff who are working to improve sustainable practice across the College. 

Rachael Dean (Sustainability Manager), Amy Dodson (JCR Environment Rep 2025-26) and Anna Handford (JCR Biodiversity Rep 2025-26)

Green Impact is an award-winning programme run internationally that supports organisations to take meaningful steps to improve sustainable practices. Participants have access to an interactive platform which provides a toolkit of effective sustainability actions teams can take.

Pembroke’s 2026 Green Impact team was made up of students and staff from across disciplines and College areas. The team met regularly throughout the year, working together to deliver a range of initiatives and events and to encourage peers and colleagues to engage with College sustainability efforts. These included the roll-out of Eyesense, a smart heating system which has reduced energy use in student accommodation; biodiversity events such as bird ringing, a bioblitz, and tree-planting at our sportsground and orchard; and a Swap Shop allowing students to share and reuse items rather than buying new. In the Kitchens and Hall, there have been partnerships with local suppliers; new software to calculate and display the carbon intensity of menu items; and improved food waste monitoring and related communications.

The efforts of the Green Impact Team build on Pembroke’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, which in recent years has seen three areas of the College site decarbonised through the installation of air and ground source heat pumps. In addition to this, we have made changes to food sourcing, menu design and service in Hall to promote greener consumption, replaced disposable cups with reusable in the café and at events, planted an orchard at the College sportsground, and more. You can read more about our sustainability commitments and initiatives here.

This year’s award plaques were crafted by the University’s joiners using reclaimed wood from former bookshelves in the archives beneath the Examination Schools.

Oxford’s Green Impact programme is tailored to align with the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy.