The International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN), the host of this award, is a global network of leading universities who are committed to sustainability on their campus and in their educational activities. The network provides a unique platform for the promotion of green campus projects by facilitating changes in planning, operations, decision making and management systems in institutions of higher learning. The ISCN particularly focuses on promoting landmark projects that demonstrate how the environmental, social and economic issues of our time provide opportunities for university administrations and faculty alike. These opportunities are realized through campus-wide improvements and the integration of sustainability in university research and academic programs. The ISCN sponsors a biannual symposium, conferences, several standing committees, has developed a charter that more than 30 world leading universities have endorsed, and is dedicated to building a gallery of outstanding projects that showcase excellence and leadership from all continents.
The Award
The ISCN is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the Fourth Annual International Sustainable Campus Excellence Awards. These awards recognize sustainable campus projects that demonstrate leadership, creativity, effectiveness and outstanding performance in the areas of Building, Campus, Integration and Student Initiatives.
The winner of the Student Award, and one of the winners from the other categories (selected by the jury) will be invited to the 2012 award ceremony at the University of Oregon in Eugene Oregon, USA, as part of the biannual ISCN meeting June 19-21, 2012. All awardees will receive a plaque and will be featured in the ISCN gallery of landmark projects where they will serve as case studies to inspire university members on what is possible and how successful projects can be developed. Through the global presence of the ISCN, the visibility of the awards will not only fertilize the improvement of campus development internationally, but will also help continue the momentum for the awardees on their own campuses.
Categories
The ISCN calls for applications and nominations to the ISCN Sustainable Campus Excellence Award in three categories: Buildings, Campus, and Integration. Applications shall be filed specifically for one out of these three categories.
Excellence in Buildings Award
The Excellence in Buildings Award will recognize campus construction projects – single or a series of new or retrofitted buildings – that show outstanding performance in energy efficiency, minimal CO2 or other environmental impacts and/or other sustainability relevant aspects.
A minimal requirement for entries is that they have documented compliance with best practices such as LEED, MINERGIE, etc. (please refer to the application form). Nominees must show overall solid performance across the three dimensions of sustainability criteria - Society, Economy and Environment -, with outstanding attributes in at least one specific aspect. Special attention in the judging process will be given to the process of planning and implementation and will also take into account financial and non-financial aspects of the project (cost efficiency, unique planning processes, remarkable community engagement etc.) The award will be given to a specific infrastructure such as a building or a group of buildings, represented by its owner and/or operator.
Excellence in Campus Award
The Excellence in Campus Award category will recognize outstanding examples of campus master planning that integrate elements of sustainable communities, energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity. Entries can be for entire campus planning efforts, redevelopment projects or other cases where multiple buildings and areas of a campus are involved.
Excellence in Integration Award
The Excellence in Integration Award seeks entries on single projects or broad initiatives that have successfully integrated specific sustainability into the culture, community and/or operations of a campus. Eligible efforts include ongoing or completed projects that show excellent achievements from the viewpoint of engaging the various stakeholders of campus sustainability. Winning projects will demonstrate how sustainable campus development and management can be used to positively impact the campus community, its research activities, the educational mission of the institution, and increase on- or off- campus community engagement. Of particular interest to the judges will be examples of the campus being effectively used as a teaching tool and living laboratory for a variety of sustainability related teaching and research activities.
Examples of winning projects may include (but are not limited to) outstanding stakeholder engagement processes, projects that lead to increased educational and/or research opportunities, or projects that lead to greater interaction between a campus and its surrounding community. An example of a single project would be the development of an academic program or a new research initiative. An example of a broader systemic initiative would be a program to increase students' awareness of sustainability throughout their academic careers. The award is given to an organization to be represented by their project leadership.
The oikos Student Leadership Award
This award was initiated by oikos International and sponsored by the oikos Foundation, an international student organization with 30 chapters based at universities around the world. The award is given to outstanding student projects or campaigns contributing to the sustainable campus and encouraging other students to start their own initiatives to make a difference. Winners in this category will be invited to "winter school" organized by oikos Witten. It is a coaching week for beginning social entrepreneurs, taking place in Berlin. The type of project is unrestricted, but should represent an effort to introduce the concept of sustainability into the university's mission, the educational experience, the residential life, or the local community. The projects or campaign may be supported by external funds, but projects must have been initiated and managed by students.
Application Process
Initial Application – March 30, 2012
Applicants can file their entries by filling in the preliminary entry form found HERE.
For the Leadership, Impact and Construction awards, based on this standardized questionnaire, the ISCN Awards Committee will screen entries and send out requests for supplemental information to projects that qualify by meeting the minimal requirements. For the oikos Student Leadership Award, the first round of judging will be carried out by a jury of former oikos award winners. Second round judging will be carried out by the ISCN jury.
Any projects that have been awarded a similar, but national or regional prize are eligible for a nomination for the ISCN award.
Supplemental Information – April 20, 2012
Outstanding applicants may be asked to submit additional documentation about the project. These comprehensive entries will be evaluated by the ISCN Awards Committee, who may contact the applicant team. If the minimum requirements are met by the nominated application, the entry will be submitted to the Jury for the final selection.
Jury Decision – May 11, 2012
An international panel of experts will evaluate the nominated entries in the three categories. The Jury will inform the selected candidate and prepare a laudatio. In addition to the awards given in the described categories, the Jury reserves the right to recognize any entry for their unique value or attributes.
Award Ceremony at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA, June 19-21, 2012
2011 Award Winners
Click here to view information on the two winning universities for 2011, Brown University and Cornell University.
