BOKU Sustainability Award

Category Ecological and Social Responsibility in University Operations

BOKU is committed to integrating sustainability as a guiding principle into all key areas of activity, including the university’s own operations.


For the Sustainability Award in the category “Social and Environmental Responsibility in University Operations,” we are seeking a wide range of best-practice examples that demonstrate how environmental and social aspects are integrated and advanced at BOKU.


To this end, both operational sustainability measures (i.e., sustainability and climate protection in the areas of mobility, energy, waste, materials, buildings, and procurement) and social measures (i.e., appreciation, diversity, respect, and cooperation in areas such as human resources management, work culture and environment, stakeholder engagement, inclusion, ethics, etc.) are initiated and implemented.

What can be submitted? BOKU projects and initiatives that are currently being implemented or have been realized in the past five years (2022-2026) can be submitted.

Who can submit? Self-nominations or nominations by BOKU members (students and employees) individually or as a group are possible. 

What can you win? Three of the submitted examples will be nominated for the award. The 1st place winner will receive a prize of €1,000 gross-gross [1] and will also receive a trophy and a certificate. The other two nominees will each receive €400 gross-gross and a certificate. In the case of group submissions, the prize must be shared among the submitters. In the case of external nominations, the submitters of the winning projects will receive a goodie bag. 

Who selects the winners? All submitted works will be reviewed by a jury (consisting of representatives from the Rectorate, the ÖH BOKU, the Works Council, and the Centre of Global Change and Sustainability).

How to submit and submission deadline? Submissions must be made according to the guidelines of the submission form. The completed form must be submitted via a BOKUlearn course: Kurs: BOKU Nachhaltigkeitspreis 2026 - Soziale und Ökologische Verantwortung | BOKUlearn by September 25, 2026. 

 

Please upload: 

  • 1 PDF including:
    • Your submission form
    • All documents relevant to your project
  • 1-3 photos that match your activity (incl. photo credits)

Use the option "self-enrollment" for the BOKUlearn course. If you do not have an active BOKU account, please ask someone from the submission team who has an active account to make the submission (this does not change who the main submitter is). If this is not possible, please contact nachhaltigkeit(at)boku.ac.at. 

Please also note the announcements in other categories.

The submission deadline is September 25th, 2026

[1] For award winners who are employed at BOKU, the prize money is considered part of their salary (bonus - paid through payroll) and is subject to employee taxes and, if applicable, social security contributions. This may result in up to 40% less being paid out. The full amount goes to individuals who are not employed at BOKU, associations, institutes, etc. (intercompany invoices).