Lincoln College has been awarded a Beyond Gold Green Impact Award at the 2024–2025 University Sustainability Showcase and Celebration and was one of the top three scoring teams. This recognition builds on two consecutive years of achieving Gold and reflects the College’s continued commitment to environmental sustainability and community engagement. A new milestone in the College’s sustainability journey, it reflects the strength of the community’s shared efforts toward a greener future.

Green Impact is a national programme that supports universities in embedding sustainable practices through collaborative action. At Lincoln, the Green Impact Team is made up of students and staff and has once again delivered a wide range of impactful initiatives, addressing key issues such as waste reduction, biodiversity, and sustainable living.

A highlight of this year’s efforts was the Waste Not Want Not swap shop, a student-led project that diverted reusable items from waste and gave them a new lease of life. The project encouraged more mindful consumption habits and helped foster a culture of reuse and circularity within College. We also collaborated with Exeter and Corpus Christi Colleges for a bioblitz in the Exeter Fellows Garden, where attendees recorded as many species as they saw in an hour.

As part of Green Action Week, the team also organised a variety of events including:

• A seed sowing workshop with the College Gardening Team
• A zero-waste shopping workshop in partnership with OxUnboxed, and
• A lunchtime seminar exploring the inequalities of climate change, delivered by Dr Emma Garnett.

In addition to the Green Impact programme, Lincoln has continued to support other sustainability engagement initiatives across College. This includes the Sustainability Pledges, which invite members of the Lincoln community to take practical steps towards reducing their environmental impact.

Special thanks go to Juliet Tye (Sustainability Officer),  Isabelle Gregory (JCR Environment and Ethics Officer), Jessica Ryan-Smith (MCR Environment Rep and MCR President), Lucy Matheson (Librarian) and Priyanka Bhatt (Apprentice Gardener) as well as to all the students and staff who contributed to this year’s success.

Juliet Tye said: "I am very proud of what the Green Impact Team has achieved this year, and it is a testament to how the College values incorporating sustainability across its operations. I look forward to coordinating many more sustainability engagement schemes with Lincoln members."

Isabelle Gregory said: "This has been my second year in the Green Impact Team and I am very proud that we have now achieved Beyond Gold. I particularly enjoyed supporting the events that we organised, with my favourite being the wildflower seed sowing event that we held as part of the Good Gardener Campaign. Being a part of the team has once again been an extremely rewarding experience and I look forward to seeing what Lincoln achieves next!"