Merton College awarded Gold Status in the University’s Green Impact Awards

Merton was awarded Gold Status in the University’s Green Impact Awards, which were held on 19 June.

Green Impact is a United Nations award-winning programme that provides a toolkit of effective actions that staff and students can take to improve sustainability across colleges and the University. Oxford University’s Green Impact Program is specifically tailored to the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy with headline targets of net zero carbon and biodiversity net gain by 2035. The ethos is about changing behaviours and making physical improvements to improve our sustainable practices in and around our buildings and in general College life.

Merton’s Gold Status was secured by our continuous sustainability work across the College and particularly by our actions to promote biodiversity in the College grounds and the steps we have taken to reduce food waste. The Gold awarded to Merton was an increase from the Bronze previously held by the College.

The awards this year were crafted by the university joiners from reclaimed wood that were previously bookshelves in the old Radcliffe Science Library, creating pieces that are sustainable and linked to the University’s legacy.