Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan has been recognized as one of the finalists for this year’s Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability (GUPES) Green Gown Awards.

XU is one of the four finalists in Asia and the Pacific in the Community Engagement category, along with Aklan State University (Philippines), De La Salle University (Philippines), and Fiji National University (Fiji).

Established in 2004, the GUPES Green Gown Awards is a joint initiative supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), that expands the Green Gown Awards further across the globe with an emphasis on profiling and learning from the Southern Hemisphere.

“All around the world universities are beacons of hope for a more sustainable future,” said EAUC chief executive officer Iain Patton in a statement. “The GUPES Green Gown Awards recognize and celebrate the powerful contribution of university staff and students and most importantly let us learn and benefit from their excellence.”

Open to GUPES members across six regions (Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and West Asia), a network of over 800 universities and colleges, the prestigious award-giving body lauds exceptional environmental sustainability initiatives and best practices.

The GUPES Green Gown Award Winner from each of the regions will automatically enter in the International Green Gown Awards contest.

The categories include Community Engagement for Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean; Continuous Improvement: Institutional Change for Africa and West Asia; and Student Engagement for Europe and North America.

The winners will be announced at the GUPES Green Gown Awarding Ceremony on September 13 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, USA. ∎