The annual College and University Business Officers (CUBO) awards took place on 27 June in Manchester Metropolitan’s Business School.
The event recognises the achievements of those working in the commercial services of higher education.
ahs’ Leave No Trace initiative won the award for Best Marketing Campaign.
The campaign was assessed on elements such as:
- it’s sustainable and environmental impact
- impact on the target audience
- innovation and new ideas
- how teamwork and commitment contributed to the success
The campaign launched in 2016 across the University’s accommodation, hospitality and retail outlets.
Leave No Trace encourages all University students, staff and visitors to reduce their environmental impact by:
- reducing the number of disposable cups and containers we use
- encouraging accommodation groups to compete to see who can recycle the most waste
- promoting Student Switch Off to help reduce carbon footprint
- donating unwanted items to charity at the end of term rather than throwing them away
In its first year the campaign achieved:
- over 60,000 people bringing their own reusable cup or container. This equated to 11% of all hot drink transactions
- 3,006 bags of unwanted items donated to charity rather than sent to landfill. This equated to a value of £43,084
- 5.3 tonnes of cutlery, food, crockery, glassware, plastics and other materials recycled, instead of thrown away
The campaign expanded earlier this year to reduce plastic use by:
- removing all plastic cups by water fountains in hospitality outlets
- replacing all plastic straws with biodegradable or paper ones
- providing wooden takeaway cutlery instead of plastic
The Leave No Trace campaign is a key part of the ahs goal Protecting What Matters, which captures the importance of sustainability to the department.