Guidance notes for participants

General information

Applications to the organisational award categories are accepted from any legal entity within the post-16 education sector or Registered Training Organisation residing within the Australasian region. An exception is available to any current ACTS institutional members from outside the Australasian region, who may elect to enter the Australasian Awards but in doing so forfeits their eligibility to directly apply to the International Awards within the 2024 award cycle.

The individual award categories are open only to staff and students from current ACTS member organisations.

2 Year Rule: Initiatives which won in the previous 2 years will not be considered for this year’s awards, unless they can provide evidence of further, significant improvement since the last application and this improvement is clearly documented in the application form. They could also consider applying to the Sustainability Institution of the Year category provided that there is evidence of further improvement since the last Award. Other initiatives from the institutions concerned, or ones which were previously submitted but unsuccessful, can be re-submitted, again with the condition that they provide documented evidence of further, significant improvements since the previous submission.

2024 Application Overview

The Green Gown Awards Australasia is a two-stage application process. The benefits of a two-stage process are to make it easier for applicants; to enable a feedback process to achieve a more uniform quality in the applications seen by the full judging panel; and to allow recognition of a greater number of initiatives (through publication of a considerable number of finalist entries).

Stage 1:

Submit the completed stage 1 application form **there are separate organisational and individual application forms**
Provide an institutional logo and 3 project/individual photos

Stage 2:

Submit the completed stage 2 application form (for successful Stage 1 applicants only, referred to as finalists)
Create a case study video

Please ensure you have all your documents and accompanying materials ready to uploading to the online submission portal.

STAGE 1

Stage 1 involves completing the stage 1 section of the application form, your institutional logo and three supporting images, which must be submitted via the online submission portal by 5pm AEST onWednesday 26 June 2024.

Organisational applications: The application’s content must not exceed 6 pages. This represents a total of 9 document pages, including cover pages, image pages and the empty stage 2 application.
Individual application; The application”s content must not exceed 4 pages. This represents a total of 7 document pages, including cover pages, images pages ad the empty stage 2 application.
Once your application has been submitted, a judging panel of independent sector experts will review it.
If your stage 1 application is successful, you will be notified you are a finalist on 1 August 2024 and will be invited to complete your Stage 2 application.

STAGE 2

Only those applicants shortlisted as a finalist are eligible to complete and submit the stage 2 section of their application form. The stage 2 section requires finalists to address the judges’ feedback and questions from their stage 1 application.

Organisational applications: The maximum length for the stage 2 application is 1 page. This represents a total of 9 document pages (including cover pages).
Completed stage 2 applications must be submitted via the online submission portal by 5pm AEST Thursday 29 August 2024.
Applications will be reviewed by the same judging panel as stage 1, who will select winner/s, and where appropriate up to two highly commended, per category from the list of finalists.

Judging

Judging will be based on a composite view of the application, taking into account the generic awards criteria, the questions within the application form, and the specific criteria of the award category. If successful at Stage 1, judges will invite applicants to submit the Stage 2 application form and address any questions they may have. As such your stage 2 application will include responses to judges’ questions, which allows applicants the opportunity to provide updated and clarified information, ensuring a higher quality application.

Marketing materials

ACTS, the awards governing body, will use some of the information contained with the application for marketing and promotional purposes. Specifically, the Project Title, Project Summary, Top Three Learnings, SDG and What Would It Mean to Win components. You are also asked to upload an institutional logo and up to three images in the submission portal, which will also be used for marketing and promotional purposes. The images and video shared within the application form in the Project Specific Supporting Materials section will be viewed by judges only. As such, the images uploaded to the submission portal can be different to the ones included within the application form.

Finalist case study and video

All finalists will have a written case study published on the Green Gown Awards Australasia website to support the awards ethos of disseminating best practice. All finalists are invited to also create a short 2-minute case study video by 31 October 2024. Finalist case studies and videos will be disseminated widely throughout the sector as part of the annual awards cycle.

Awards ceremony

All finalists will be showcased, and winners announced at the annual Green Gown Awards Australasia Gala on Thursday 7 November 2024. The Awards ceremony will be hosted in conjunction with the 2024 ACTS Conference – The Future of Sustainability, this year hosted by the University of Tasmania in Launceston, Tasmania.

International Green Gown Awards

The Green Gown Awards are delivered on a regional basis in Australasia, the UK and Ireland and globally through the International Green Gown Awards. The winners from 8 categories will automatically be submitted to the International Green Gown Awards:

Benefitting Society
Climate Action
Creating Impact
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Sustainability
Nature Positive
Next Generation Learning and Skills
Student Engagement
Sustainable Institution of the Year

Completing your STAGE 1 organisational category submission

There will be a large number of stage 1 applications, so those which stand out through their clear signalling of achievements, succinct descriptions of work done and benefits achieved, and the provision of quantitative information, will have a greater chance of impressing the judges and progressing to stage 2.

Top Tips:

Give your entry a short, catchy title. A catchy name will also help you stand out from the crowd.
Be as descriptive as possible with your project summary. The project summary will appear in your online project description if you are a finalist. So please write it in paragraphs and not in bullet points.
Avoid using acronyms – do not assume everyone will know them.
If you wish to back up any statements within the text of your application, consider adding web links at the relevant section. Judges do look favourably if they can see evidence for claims made. Please note however that judges are not required to view any included links, so ensure they are not central to the application.
Please note, the minimum font size is Calibre 9pt and you must not exceed the pages stated for both stage 1 and stage 2.
Applications need to be sent in Word format (and not PDF).
You must submit your application by 5pm AEST on 26 June 2024.

Generic criteria

To make a strong application please provide facts and figures to support your application and meet all the criteria within your chosen category. You should also include the following generic criteria:

Demonstrate the impact of any measures taken and show documented outcomes.
Provide clear quantitative data to support claims being made.
Include, where appropriate, metrics such as: carbon savings relative to output/activity. This might be tCO2/student or tCO2/staff member and/or cost of a project relative to the amount of carbon that has been saved, i.e. $/tCO2
Applications need to go above and beyond standard practice. For those categories asking for a holistic, whole life-cycle approach, the application must focus on the whole life-cycle and not on an individual campaign(s).
Applications need to demonstrate actions above and beyond standard practice.
Document mature projects, which have been evaluated and monitored longitudinally.
Explain clearly how the project includes academic staff and/or professional sector staff/support staff, students and include numbers of those involved. Where students and staff are involved, as well as numbers, include how they were involved and what impact/influence they had.
If it’s a joint partnership or third parties are included, please provide details on the roles of all parties and state who is the main driver. If your initiative is submitting to Powerful Partnerships, please provide details on the roles of all parties and state who is the main driver – and state if selected, the name of the partners as they should appear on the certificate/trophy.
The annual turnover threshold for small institutions is $500 million or below (AUD or equivalent).
Explain any KPI’s that are relevant to your application and any relevant costs/resources, inputs/outputs. For example: Before initiative: 10% of students were engaged. After initiative: 70% of students were engaged.

Online Submission Portal: The submission portal will request details including applicant contact details, organisational social media and marketing specific questions: how did you hear about the awards; why did you apply and if relevant, numbers of staff/students/community involved in your project. The number of people involved will be combined across all finalists to assess the overall impacts of the Awards projects. Your answers will not be shared with the judges.

You will also be asked to provide your organisation’s logo and three (3) promotional images for your application. These images are not sent to judges and can be different to the ones provided within your application form. Landscape orientation is preferred. Please save the image files in the following format: [Organisation Name]_[Award category]_[Image #]. For example: University of ACTS_Climate Action_Image 1

The following topics must be covered in your application form:

Declaration – By submitting an application form, you are agreeing to our Conditions of Entry and the Guidance Notes for Participants.

General Information – Organisation name, category entered and details on previous submissions to the awards. Please outline if the application is being made by a third party, or other non-academic body, please obtain prior approval from the institution, and provide a contact at the institution.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – The awards organisers are gathering information, globally, on the SDGs. Please select one SDG that your application particularly delivers against. As educators for future generations of leaders, institutions have a critical responsibility for the successful implementation and realisation of the SDGs. Education is a transformational element in realising all goals. This is NOT part of the judging process but for wider information gathering purposes only, to illustrate the role of applicants in delivering the SDGs.

Top 3 learnings from implementing your project: Please write in the “first person” (i.e. I, we, our etc.). This will be used in various marketing communications and campaigns as well as the online showcase of finalists and winners etc. Please include your institutions / teams top 3 learnings from implementing the project in 3 short bullets. This can act as words of advice to others who may be starting out on their projects. Please keep these short – max. 15 words per item. The Awards Team reserve the right to shorten this if submitted text is too long.

Organisational Profile – You must provide the relevant information and include a short profile of your organisation. Please use the points within the application form to shape your profile. Top 3 learnings from implementing your project. Please write in the “first person” (i.e. I, we, our etc.). This is NOT a part of the judging process but will be used in various marketing communications and campaigns as well as the Finalists’ Brochure, website etc. Please include your institutions top 3 learnings from implementing the project in 3 short bullets. This can act as words of advice to others who may be starting out on their projects. Please keep these short – max. 15 words per item.

Organisation’s External Accreditations – Please list here any standards/ accreditations you have that are relevant to your application. Judges are looking for excellent initiatives that go beyond expected good standards and accreditations.

Project Title & Summary – Please include a short summary of the initiative. This should only be a few sentences in length. Please make the title short and ‘catchy’ and the summary as descriptive as possible, this will need to grab the judges’ attention.

The Initiative – Describe the initiative, covering topics such as the activities undertaken; reasons for doing it; timescale; costs (in cash and staff time); current status (on-going, completed etc.); departments/organisations involved; any external recognition. Include quantitative data/cost data/budget analysis. We recommend you to provide as much evidence and supporting text here as you can. If there is a lot of data you want to include try and summarise it as much as possible. Please do not use links to external websites as judges may not necessarily review all the information so if possible include important elements here. We also want to hear about how the project was funded, what level of funding it received, which partners you worked with as well as any financial benefits gained from the project. For those categories asking for a holistic, whole life-cycle approach, the application must focus on the whole life-cycle and not on an individual campaign(s). Judging: This section has a maximum score of 25 – 15 for the overall initiative and 10 for category specific criteria.

The Environmental and Social Benefits – Summarise the benefits. Benefits may relate to operational outcomes, environmental/social outcomes, sector benefits. Provide as much quantification as possible, making maximum use of normalised measures (e.g. energy per FTE or square metre of floor space) and be consistent in use of units. Be sure to highlight distinctive features (e.g. levels of energy and water efficiency saving, success in reducing car usage). Summarise the sustainable procurement practices – covering initiatives you used and any obstacles you encountered. What procurement practices were put into place as a result of your project? Has this resulted in a positive shift in attitude? Or in future procurement activities? Describe any financial implications as a result of your procurement practices? How were circular economy principles used? What are your project’s legal requirements versus what you have done over and beyond these standard requirements? Judging: This section has a maximum score of 10.

Leadership and Engagement – How does your application fit within your wider institution’s strategy, value, and ethos? How have you demonstrated leadership in communicating your initiative? What ways you have involved others in your application. This could include other departments/faculties, the local community and industry, as well as what communication about the application has taken place. Judging: This section has a maximum score of 10.

Significance to the Sector – Please summarise what you feel is distinctive about your application e.g. originality; replicability through the sector; outstanding example of best practice; application of new technology, process, or approach; new application of an existing product. Describe learning from the initiative that could be of relevance to other institutions. Evidence of transfer to other institutions should be provided where available. Please indicate what ways you have involved others in your application. This could include other departments/faculties, the local community and industry, as well as what communication about the initiative has taken place. Where possible include examples of engagement and/or the communication processes. Judging: This section has a maximum score of 10.

Wider Societal Benefits – Please outline the wider societal impact and value of your application. What is the impact of your application to society outside of your institution, staff, and students? What is the legacy of your application as it benefits wider society? Did your project help widen participation? Provide evidence of the impact. Judging: This section has a maximum score of 10.

Learner/Graduate Employer Benefits – Please outline the benefit and value of your application to learner/graduate employers. How has your application improved learner/graduate employability attributes that will attract them to potential employers? What is the legacy of your application as it benefits learner/graduate employers? Provide evidence of the impact. Judging: This section has a maximum score of 5.

Project Specific Supporting Materials – If your initiative relates to a visual or a virtual campaign you can include a URL and/or images to illustrate this. We will ask judges to view the images/URL, but cannot guarantee all will do so. You must ensure any pertinent information is included as text within your application – this is very important. If not relevant to your entry, do not include. You need to enter the images within the boxes within the application form and not send as separate files.

Special Note for the Sustainable Institution of the Year category – Questions are as above for Organisational Categories but relates to the Institution and the application (whole institutional approach) rather than a specific project. Applications must address ALL four key institutional priority areas: Facilities & Operations, Learning, Teaching & Research, Partnerships & Engagement, Leadership & Governance, for your submission to be considered. It is especially difficult to judge this category, so please ensure you highlight key areas where the institution is distinctive compared to its peers, and provide supporting evidence. Tangible evidence of high-level commitment, and its incorporation into management procedures, will also carry great weight with the judges.

Completing your Stage 1 individual category application

Individual categories: Must be nominated by a manager or peer. Only staff or students of ACTS member organisations are eligible for nomination. The nominee is the person filling out the form and being put forward for the individual award. The nominator is the person submitting the application on behalf of the individual.

There are 3 categories available in 2024:

Sustainability Leadership
Sustainability Staff Champion
Sustainability student Champion.

Individuals are asked to complete a the Stage 1 Application Form, completed in the first person (eg. Using “I am/I have”).

Online Submission Portal: The submission portal will request details including nominee and nominator’s contact details, nominee’s social media and marketing specific questions: how did you hear about the awards and if relevant, numbers of staff/students/community involved in your project. The number of people involved will be combined across all finalists to assess the overall impacts of the Awards projects. Your answers will not be shared with the judges.

You will also be asked to provide your nominee’s organisational logo and three (3) promotional images for your application. These images are not sent to judges and can be different to the ones provided within your application form. Landscape orientation is preferred. Please save the image files in the following format: [Nominee Name]_[Award category]_[Image #]. For example: John Smith_Sustainability Leadership_Image 1

The following topics must be covered in your application form:

General Information – Please ensure you have permission from the nominee before you make your nomination.

Top 3 learnings from implementing your approach: Please write in the “first person” (i.e. I, we, our etc.). This will be used in various marketing communications and campaigns as well as the online showcase of finalists and winners etc. Please include your nominee’s top 3 learnings from their approach in 3 short bullets. This can act as words of advice to others who may be starting out on their projects. Please keep these short – max. 15 words per item. The Awards Team reserve the right to shorten this if submitted text is too long.

Individual Summary – Please explain succinctly what you have achieved. Please make it as ‘catchy’ and descriptive as possible.

Supporting Materials – You can include a URL and/or images to support your application. We will ask judges to view the images/URL, but cannot guarantee all will do so. So please ensure any pertinent information is included as text within your application. If not relevant to your entry, do not include. You need to enter the images within the boxes within the application form and not send as separate files.

The Individual – Why do you think you/the team deserves to win? What actions have you taken to make you stand out? Include how your actions were over and above the normal requirements. Include any recognition received within and beyond their institution. Describe your actions, covering topics such as the activities undertaken; reasons for doing it; timescale; costs (in cash and time); current status (on-going, completed etc.); departments/organisations involved.

Include quantitative data/cost data/budget analysis where available. We recommend you provide as much evidence and supporting text here as you can. If there is a lot of data you want to include try and summarise it as much as possible. Please note that judges may not review links to external websites so include all important elements within your application.

Impacts and Benefits – Summarise the impact and benefits from your actions. Benefits may relate to positive impacts on their peers, institution, students, local community, workforce or other. Provide evidence of impact, any aspects of positive sustainable procurement outcomes (if relevant) and good leadership/championing practice and how you have engaged and inspired others. How were circular economy principles used? (If relevant.) Include any positive unexpected outcomes from your actions. Describe how you have gone over and beyond standard job requirements?

Leadership and Engagement – Please summarise what you feel is distinctive about YOUR actions. How does your role/your team’s role sit within the institution’s strategy, values and ethos? Have any of your actions had an impact in this area? Also include information on any communication / engagement about actions or initiatives. Include numbers involved. What have you done to disseminate and aid replication of your project/s? (If applicable).

Wider Societal impact – Please outline the wider societal impact and value of your application. What is the impact of your efforts/research to society outside of your institution, staff and students? What is the legacy of our work as it benefits wider society? Provide evidence of the impact.

Completing your Stage 2 application

Organisational and individual finalists are required to submit the completed application form for stage 2 judging, which will have been returned and include judges’ questions. It will identify areas where perhaps you are able to improve upon/include/go into more detail in your Stage 2 section. You can also include any new, relevant, additions/updates to your initiative.

We encourage you to pay considerable attention to these questions in your Stage 2 application. Overall, the judges are looking for a concise continuation of your Stage 1 application, including further information and improvement where advised by their feedback.

Your Stage 1 application section will be locked and may not be edited. You must only complete the Stage 2 section of the form.

The following topics must be covered in your stage 2 application form:

Updated information – Please provide any new information relevant to the application since it’s submission at stage 1 (maximum of 150 words)

“What would it mean to your institution to win a Green Gown Award?” quote – from your VC/Principal.

Addressing the judges question – Finalists will have a maximum of 1 A4 page to respond to the judges questions from stage 1. This is an opporuntiy to directly answer or clarify any elements the judges identified from your application.

You must submit your completed stage 2 application form to the online submission portal by 5pm AEST on Thursday 29 August 2024.