Stage 2 guidance notes
2026 International Green Gown Awards
Only those who are shortlisted as finalists can apply at Stage 2. You will be emailed your application form with the judge's questions.
Online form
The questions asked in 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
One video or media image
You can view the online form here.
Video or media image
Whilst not mandatory, all finalists are encouraged to submit a short 2-minute animation. This can take the form of a video, vlog, infographics or other, as part of their commitment for dissemination to the wider sector. You can use these images to help promote the awards.
These materials will be shared on the EAUC website, in emails and social media content about the Green Gown Awards (YouTube and LinkedIn).
Promoting your projects is an important part of the Green Gown Awards cycle, as your media has power to bring projects to life, tell stories and make your impact more tangible to audiences and judges.
Whilst your media materials are not a part of your submission, and will not be used in the judging process, we do encourage as many finalists as possible to create some form of media about their shortlisted entry.
Please see the requirements, recommendations, and accessibility guidance for media materials below:
Requirements
Top and tail your media materials with the following:
Green Gown Awards logo
Your institutions logo, name and the name of category entered.
Your chosen media must specifically be about your submitted project, therefore not a generic marketing video about your team or institution.
Your media materials can take the form of photos, animations, videos, infographics, vlogs, or other videos.
Videos should not exceed 2 minutes long and be in a wide/landscape format
Content with dialogue must include subtitles in English*
Where people are featured, include their name and role title
Avoid using licensed or copyright images and music – while you might have the permissions to use them, this right will not necessarily extend to the Green Gown Awards.
Recommendations
Include quotes, lines, or interviews with senior staff, such as your head of organisation, about the project and what it means to be a finalist
Include information about how people can find out more
If your team is unfamiliar with video making, but would like to create one, try out software such as Animoto and Canva to begin. These provide many user-friendly tools and templates and are free to use.
Accessibility Guidance
Ensuring full accessibility across media materials created by and associated with the Green Gown Awards is an essential part of our practice. Not only is this an expectation of good practice but it speaks volumes to the wider importance of actively making sustainability achievable and accessible to all people. Our standards are as follows:
English subtitles must appear on all videos and audio files - recorded and live. All video content should be subtitled – either by hardcoding these into the video file during the editing process or utilising platforms such as YouTube Studio to produce a SRT file. Here, you can edit the auto-generated caption file, upload your own (for example from Zoom) or manually input subtitles.
Subtitles should reflect speech and sound effects that may not be audible to people with hearing impairments. They should be synchronised as closely as possible to the audio.
If hardcoding subtitles, make sure to use an appropriately large font size and a sufficiently contrasting colour.
Audio within your video should be recorded clearly, absent of conflicting background noise or other sounds.
For videos which do not include audio, you may wish to include a plain English description of the key visual elements of the content. This will be written into the video description.
Images on social media must contain Alternative Text (‘Alt text’).
Choose your colours mindfully - low contrast is difficult for many people to read. Use the WebAim colour contrast checker or this Colour Contract Checker to check the contrast between your background, text and other components – it should have a minimum ratio of 4:5:1. Top tip: minimise your palette to 2-3 colours to reduce the risk of poor accessibility.
Emphasis is better achieved through words, not colours. Consider making key words larger or in bold, or capital letter. Avoid using colour changes or font changes to achieve emphasis.
If including complex language, jargon, or other specialised terminology, ensure this is explained for a non-specialist audience.
Minimise the use of text within and on top of graphics, images, and videos as much as possible. If using embedded or overlayed text, you will have a greater impact by keeping these to as few words as possible and in larger, bolder formats.
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.
Judge's questions
Feedback and questions have been added to your application form.
Addressing judge's questions to your Stage 1 application
This is an opportunity for you to directly answer or clarify any elements the judges identified from your Stage 1 application. Judging: This section has a maximum score of 10.
Leadership and engagement
How does your project fit within your wider institution’s strategy, value and ethos? How have you demonstrated leadership in communicating your initiative? How have you involved others in your project. This could include other departments/faculties, staff and students, the local community and industry, as well as what communication about the project 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 proposal, for example 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. 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 benefits and value of your application. What is the benefit 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 benefits 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 benefits. Judging: This section has a maximum score of 10.
Updated information
Please add any relevant, new material since your Stage 1 submission. Please provide clear headings.
You must not exceed the 2 page limit for Stage 2.
You have now finished your International Green Gown Awards Stage 2 application form. You may delete any green font notes in the document to create more space. You need to upload this application form (in Word format), and your institution’s video or media image (in MP4 format) into the online form.
The contact details supplied in the online form, will receive an email confirmation of the submission.
The deadline for submitting your application is 12 noon UTC time on 17 JULY 2026.
Thank you for taking the time to apply and good luck with your application.
The winners will be announced during Winner's Week which starts on 7 September 2026.
