February 2021 saw the unveiling of CHAS’ bold new student competition, offering a £2,000 cash prize to our winning entry.
The criteria laid out a desire for an essay, no longer than 1 thousand words, that discussed ways in which life at university could be improved to help fight the climate change crisis. Our panel of judges — featuring Jonquil Hackenberg, Global Head of Sustainability at PA Consulting, and Garath Rondel, Sustainability Business Lead at CHAS — carefully reviewed all entries, considering their social and environmental impact, their vision and creativity, and their potential viability as genuine sustainability projects that universities could implement.
CHAS shortlisted four finalists from our list of entries:
- Sparsh Bhure — University of Nottingham
- Lam Wan Chung — University of West England
- Aymeric Bricout — Imperial College London
- Hardeep Chahal — Leeds Beckett University
We’re pleased to announce that the winner of our CHAS student contest for 2021 and the recipient of our £2,000 cash prize is Aymeric Bricout of Imperial College London.
A Powerful Idea For Educational Services
Aymeric’s powerful idea for altering the course of the climate change crisis took the fight to the education sector itself. His proposal outlines an inspiring and very realistic strategy to transform the educational services that universities across the country offer. To quote his essay, Aymeric states that “universities can first and foremost contribute to net-zero by educating and training future citizens and professionals.”
Including ways in which the university ranking system can be changed to encourage environmentalism modules, how resources would be allocated to enable greater levels of investment in climate change education and how educators would find support to carry out new climate change modules, Aymeric’s entry lays bare a roadmap to a better future. The essay is a perfect example of a thought-leadership piece.
Perhaps his most poignant idea can again be summarised by another quote from his essay: “Climate issues will be taught throughout the curriculum of each degree.”
Aymeric presents the idea that all those taking part in higher education should receive some level of formal education that supports better understanding and awareness of the climate change crisis — no matter what they study. A bold and systemic change that promises to change mindsets. Through this educational model, Aymeric envisions an impact on a global scale. Generation after generation of individuals leaving university with a keen sense of duty to protect their environment.
CHAS shares Aymeric’s belief that this is one of the best ways universities can help support net-zero objectives. Our judges felt his essay was a highly ambitious and original concept that conveyed a series of well-developed ideas from a multitude of different angles. It encompasses a truly holistic approach to sustainability and changed our judging panels’ way of thinking about how we can better combat the climate crisis.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Aymeric and all the other students that entered our contest. The level of work and enthusiasm seen in the essays submitted was a source of true inspiration for the CHAS team.
CHAS is dedicated to sustainability and a cleaner environment. Our sustainability accreditation for contractors is helping to secure a greener world for future generations.
