Stage 1 guidance notes
2026 International Green Gown Awards
Online form
The questions asked in the online form and the application form are listed below. The application form is available here.
Your submission consists of:
Submitting the online form
Within the online form, uploading
The application in Word format
Your Institution's logo
One project image
You can view the online form here.
Use of AI
Whilst AI can be useful in helping to construct concise answers, the judges will be looking for authenticity and individuality qualities in your application so avoid using AI for content construction.
Application form
The information below is given to help you complete the questions in the application form.
Organisational details
Enter the details required.
Project URL
If your application relates specifically to video communications used within your initiative, you can add a web link to the video here. If the video contains important, project specific information, please ensure you have also included this as text within your application form as we cannot guarantee that videos will be viewed in full.
Project images
If your application relates specifically to a visual campaign you can add up to 3 images maximum. Please provide a short description for each of them. File size must be less than 3MB in total.
Project Title and Summary
Please make it as ‘catchy’ and descriptive as possible. If you are selected as a Finalist, this text will be included in the communications about the awards and on our website.
Organisational Profile
Please state the number of students you have (include full and part-time students, and full, casual, and part-time staff and quote the full-time equivalent number - FTE). Your institution’s annual turnover (in US$M): (You can use an online conversion calculator to convert to US Dollars.)
Organisational External Credentials
Please list here any standards/accreditations your institution may have that are relevant to your application.
The Initiative – Referring to the specific category criteria 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 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 the Sustainability Institution of the Year category 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 20. 10 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 student 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.
Top 3 learnings from implementing your project - Please write in the “first person” (i.e. I, we, our etc.). This information will be used as a marketing tool and appear in various places such as the 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 – maximum 15 words per item.
You must not exceed the 5 page limit for Stage 1.
You have now finished your International Green Gown Awards Stage 1 application form. You may delete any green font notes in the document to create more space. You need to click on the APPLY NOW and upload this application form (in Word format), and your institution’s logo and one project image (in JPG or PNG formats).
You will receive a confirmation message to say that the form has been submitted. The person who completed the form and supplied their email at the start of the online form, will receive an email confirmation of the submission.
The deadline for submitting your application is 12 noon UTC time on 10 APRIL 2026.
Thank you for taking the time to apply and good luck with your application.
The remainder questions are for Stage 2 applications. Only Finalists will be invited to complete Stage 2. You will be notified on 4 June if you are a Finalist.
