University of York
The Sustainable Lab Quest - Adventures of The Little Green Chemist
Finalist, Student engagement
About
Recognising that traditional communication often fails due to information overload in academic environments, the GCCE Sustainability Team launched “The Sustainable Lab Quest” to cut through the noise. PhD lead Megan Goss handcrafted the mascot “The Little Green Chemist” to personify green practices via LinkedIn. This narrative-driven approach, planned and designed by a team of student advocates, transformed technical information into a dynamic campaign covering alternative lab equipment, Green Chemistry principles and community action. In six months, the page gained 450 followers and 75k impressions from 26k accounts. This creative brand led to international invitations, including a global webinar for Beyond Benign and workshops for TechNet Scotland and the White Rose ECR collective. Our work proves the power of student involvement to achieve meaningful impact, by transforming technical information into a relatable narrative, bridging the gap between academic theory and daily practice.
Top 3 learnings
- We learned that having a relatable focal-point at the centre of a campaign expands the reach.
- We appreciate the power of consistent branding to achieve a continued audience for social media.
- We learned the importance of networking with other communication projects to increase the impact.
What it would mean to win
Winning a Green Gown Award is widely considered one of the highest sustainability honors a higher education institution in the UK and Ireland can achieve. For the University of York, taking home this award celebrates the pioneering research driven by both staff and students at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence (GCCE). With a core mission to inspire the next generation of sustainable chemists, the GCCE serves as a vital training ground for MSc and PhD students. For these young researchers, this award is a morale booster - proving that their hard work in the lab extends far beyond the pages of their academic papers. Instead, it cements their role within a global, award-winning green chemistry movement that deeply embeds sustainability into the very philosophy of modern science.
SDG
| 2026 | |
| Student engagement | |
| Finalist, UK and Ireland |
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