Sustainability Leadership category

Raveena Grace is the Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Melbourne and a passionate sustainability leader dedicated to empowering staff and students to create positive change. Driven by a belief in the power of collective action, Raveena designs programs that inspire individuals to become changemakers within their communities.

Over the past eight years, Raveena has led flagship initiatives including Green Impact, Sustainability Week, the Sustainability Awards, Sustainability Advocates and sustainable events programs, engaging tens of thousands of people in sustainability action. Her leadership has delivered more than 8,700 verified sustainability actions, over 1,000 events, and significant environmental outcomes through waste reduction, reuse and emissions reduction. Through sector-leading tools such as the Sustainable Events Framework, Environmental Management System and ACTS Sustainable Events Certification, Raveena’s work is creating lasting behavioural and cultural change within the University and across the global Green Impact network.

Raveena Grace – The University of Melbourne

Impacts & Benefits

  • Engaged the University community at scale, reaching around 95,000 participation touchpoints and an estimated 50,000 unique individuals over eight years.
  • Delivered measurable sustainability action, including more than 8,700 verified actions across campus events and initiatives.
  • Reduced waste and supported resource recovery, including over 58,000 items reused through Green My Plate and more than 2,000kg of organic waste diverted from landfill.
  • Strengthened environmental outcomes, with volunteering initiatives contributing to the planting of over 10,000 trees.
  • Built long-term institutional capability, through toolkits, frameworks, presentations, volunteer training and staff modules that embed sustainability into everyday decision-making.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Led through systems thinking and scalable design, creating frameworks that embed sustainability into everyday university operations rather than one-off initiatives.
  • Developed practical tools and standards, including the Sustainable Events Framework, Green Impact toolkits, Environmental Management System and ACTS Sustainable Events Certification.
  • Made sustainability accessible and actionable, using clear steps, behaviour change design and recognition pathways to increase participation across staff and students.
  • Built strong cross-institutional collaboration, working with faculties, professional services, operational teams, student groups and external partners to co-design initiatives.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Contributed to global sustainability engagement by supporting Green Impact at the University of Melbourne.
  • Built future sustainability capability, supporting 1,413 student volunteers and 72 interns to develop practical skills in sustainability, systems thinking and behaviour change.
  • Normalised sustainability in organisational practice, helping shift action from optional engagement to embedded, measurable and accountable systems.
  • Created scalable tools for wider adoption, including the Sustainable Events Toolkit and ACTS Sustainable Events Certification for use across the sector and beyond.
  • Supported broader cultural and behavioural change, helping institutions and communities embed climate-conscious decision-making into everyday practice.
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Top 3 learnings

  • Persistent curiosity across systems drives scalable institutional sustainability change.
  • Engagement works best when sustainability is embedded into everyday actions.
  • Collaboration across teams transforms small initiatives into sector-leading impact.

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Category finalists

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Sustainability Leadership category

Raveena Grace is the Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Melbourne and a passionate sustainability leader dedicated to empowering staff and students to create positive change. Driven by a belief in the power of collective action, Raveena designs programs that inspire individuals to become changemakers within their communities.

Over the past eight years, Raveena has led flagship initiatives including Green Impact, Sustainability Week, the Sustainability Awards, Sustainability Advocates and sustainable events programs, engaging tens of thousands of people in sustainability action. Her leadership has delivered more than 8,700 verified sustainability actions, over 1,000 events, and significant environmental outcomes through waste reduction, reuse and emissions reduction. Through sector-leading tools such as the Sustainable Events Framework, Environmental Management System and ACTS Sustainable Events Certification, Raveena’s work is creating lasting behavioural and cultural change within the University and across the global Green Impact network.

Raveena Grace – The University of Melbourne

Top 3 learnings

  • Persistent curiosity across systems drives scalable institutional sustainability change.
  • Engagement works best when sustainability is embedded into everyday actions.
  • Collaboration across teams transforms small initiatives into sector-leading impact.
Raveena Grace – The University of Melbourne

Impacts & Benefits

  • Engaged the University community at scale, reaching around 95,000 participation touchpoints and an estimated 50,000 unique individuals over eight years.
  • Delivered measurable sustainability action, including more than 8,700 verified actions across campus events and initiatives.
  • Reduced waste and supported resource recovery, including over 58,000 items reused through Green My Plate and more than 2,000kg of organic waste diverted from landfill.
  • Strengthened environmental outcomes, with volunteering initiatives contributing to the planting of over 10,000 trees.
  • Built long-term institutional capability, through toolkits, frameworks, presentations, volunteer training and staff modules that embed sustainability into everyday decision-making.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Led through systems thinking and scalable design, creating frameworks that embed sustainability into everyday university operations rather than one-off initiatives.
  • Developed practical tools and standards, including the Sustainable Events Framework, Green Impact toolkits, Environmental Management System and ACTS Sustainable Events Certification.
  • Made sustainability accessible and actionable, using clear steps, behaviour change design and recognition pathways to increase participation across staff and students.
  • Built strong cross-institutional collaboration, working with faculties, professional services, operational teams, student groups and external partners to co-design initiatives.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Contributed to global sustainability engagement by supporting Green Impact at the University of Melbourne.
  • Built future sustainability capability, supporting 1,413 student volunteers and 72 interns to develop practical skills in sustainability, systems thinking and behaviour change.
  • Normalised sustainability in organisational practice, helping shift action from optional engagement to embedded, measurable and accountable systems.
  • Created scalable tools for wider adoption, including the Sustainable Events Toolkit and ACTS Sustainable Events Certification for use across the sector and beyond.
  • Supported broader cultural and behavioural change, helping institutions and communities embed climate-conscious decision-making into everyday practice.

Supported by

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