University of Kent achieves silver Green Meetings Award for sustainability strength

The University of Kent is proud to have achieved a Silver Green Meetings award, a significant recognition of the University’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and its proactive efforts to deliver environmentally responsible conferences and events across both of its Canterbury and Medway campuses.

The Silver certification, awarded by Green Tourism, has been granted to Kent’s event management service and the Darwin Conferencing Suite on its Canterbury campus. This follows a series of targeted actions to elevate their sustainability standards in multiple facets.

Some of the key initiatives undertaken by the University to achieve this award include:

• Encouraging delegates to travel responsibly and sustainably, by promoting and advising on the availability of secure bike storage, access to public transport, and walking routes between The University of Kent campus and the city centre.
• Creating a dedicated accessibility guidance page for those visiting the campus and facilities to inform event organisers and attendees of the accessibility features available across The University of Kent.
• Advancing the University of Kent’s sustainable food action plan to ensure that catering menus highlight local, seasonal, and sustainable ingredients.
• Promoting the use of the University’s green spaces by encouraging delegates to explore the Canterbury campus’ walking trails and natural points of interest.

This comprehensive approach to sustainability is closely aligned with the award’s criteria, which evaluate initiatives based on three pillars: caring for people, places, and the planet. The assessment considers not only operational practices such as energy and water efficiency, waste management, and sustainable travel, but also broader themes including accessibility, inclusion, and community engagement — all of which the University of Kent continues to prioritise alongside academic excellence and inclusive student life.

Building on this achievement, the University’s Conferencing and Events team, alongside the Sustainability team, will implement further recommendations identified during the assessment to enhance our sustainable event offerings. With an ambition to attain Gold status, Kent aims to continually improve its practices. Additionally, the University of Kent’s Sustainability team plans to share insights gained through this process by developing sustainable events guidance to be adopted across all events at the University.

Sustainability Manager at Kent, Catherine Morris, said:

“This award is a fantastic recognition of the work that’s been going on behind the scenes to make our events, and our university, more sustainable. It shows how collaboration across departments can create real impact, and it highlights the University’s ongoing commitment to environmental and social responsibility.”

Sandra Heyworth, Sales Manager for the Conferences and Events team at Kent, said:

“It has been a privilege to work through the extensive required actions to provide clients with the sustainable service they have been asking for. This accreditation will enable us to support a wider range of organisations which prioritise sustainability and a reduction in environmental impact, with whom we are determined to work towards achieving a gold accreditation through further action that benefits our university community, the region, and the planet.”