Wadham wins a beyond gold Green Impact award for the first time

Date Published: 19.06.2026

We were pleased that our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and increase the sustainability of our community were recognised at the University's Green Impact awards.

The awards were announced by the University's Environmental Sustainability team on 17 June 2026.

Building on our achievement of receiving gold awards for the past two years, our first beyond gold award recognises how Wadham has maintained and improved existing sustainable initiatives, as well as adding new projects.

To support our aim to be Biodiversity Net Positive, we are working with Future Nature WTC (Wildlife Trust Consultancy) to carry out baseline biodiversity audits of our four College sites in Oxford: our main campus on Parks Road; student accommodation sites, Dorothy Wadham Building on Iffley Road; and Merifield Annexe in Summertown; as well as our sportsground close to the Marston Ferry Road. These surveys will help us to understand the flora and fauna here and how they have developed since our last biodiversity audit in 2022.

Our volunteer gardening groups started in Hilary term 2026. Since then, the volunteer staff and students have helped to make and plant out raised beds while learning about organic gardening principles – non-chemical pest control, companion planting, encouraging beneficial insects; supporting early pollinators; and lawn edging and care and sustainable watering.

Our Estates Manager, Chris Cox, has hosted joint presentations with Eyesea Green for our University and college colleagues. Drawing on live deployments at Wadham, Chris presented an evidence-based approach to room-level energy management and control. He demonstrated how intelligent, room-specific systems can actively manage heating, ventilation, and environmental conditions — delivering substantial energy savings while reducing reliance on whole building invasive retrofits.

Our students work closely with us on our programme of improvements to sustain the environment for future generations. At the end of each term this academic year, they have run a swap shop for clothes and other items to reduce waste and increase reuse and recycling.

We look forward to building on these initiatives and more, and to finding new ways to take forward our Sustainability Strategy, led by our Director of Sustainability, Frances Lloyd.