Sustainability Leadership Awards 2026

Student Counselling Service

The staff in the Student Counselling Service led by Sinead Crowley are acknowledged for their "Greening the Grey" project aimed at connecting climate, nature and health. This project aimed to encourage a deeper connection to nature, foster community, and promote shared responsibility for the cultivation and care of this space. Using native Irish plants, and upcycling materials, this project demonstrates how with good will and community spirit we can continue greening the grey and all take an active role in supporting our environment.

Sheenagh Rowland

B.A. History student

Sheenagh has demonstrated leadership as a Climate Youth Delegate with Plan International at COP29 in Azerbijan, and by hosting several workshops on climate justice. For example, she co-hosted a workshop on climate justice as part of Oxfam’s Ground Up: Climate Justice Forum. The forum discussing localised solutions to the climate crisis with students and faculty at UCC. Sheenagh also formed part of the Youth Advisory Group for the National Youth Assembly on Climate and is dedicated to facilitating and supporting students to talk about climate and to have their voice heard.

Peter Breen, John Kelly, Paul Bolger, John Uzice, Ciaran Ryan, Peter Gormley and Jimmy Hutchison

Estates & Facilities Team

The Estates & Facilities (Engineering & Maintenance Services) team has played a pivotal role in advancing Trinity’s decarbonisation efforts, delivering measurable and impactful results. They secured €1 million in SEAI funding to retrofit the SNIAM building—installing air source heat pumps, energy-efficient systems, and safety upgrades—while keeping the building fully operational as well as reducing its projected CO₂ emissions from 486 to 265 tonnes.

In 2025, the team achieved a 10% reduction in both electricity and gas consumption, saving millions of kWh, hundreds of tonnes of carbon, and significant operational costs.

Amelia Flanagan

SU Environment Officer, UG Student

Amelia has demonstrated exceptional dedication to sustainability this academic year, earning multiple peer nominations for her impact. She organised two successful “Trash to Treasure” events, chaired the Green Campus committee and created the Climate Action Committee as well as helping to lead climate change protests including the national “Stop Climate Chaos” demonstration. As SU Environmental Officer, she has balanced her academic commitments with her leadership role, consistently amplifying student voices and increasing awareness of sustainability across campus. Amelia also volunteers with the St. Vincent De Paul and her true grassroots activism has made a lasting impact on the campus community.

Carmen Sanjulián

Teaching Fellow in Spanish, Department of Hispanic Studies

Carmen is passionate about embedding ESD in the curriculum, being one of the first cohort to volunteer for training in ESD, and has shown pioneering leadership in developing new curricula, and inspiring students and colleagues. The new Junior Sophister module she designed, in Sustainable Futures in Spanish-speaking Contexts, will bring cutting edge methodologies in sustainable education to the Hispanic Studies curriculum at Trinity.

Matthew Dossett

Deputy Head of Trinity Sport    

Matthew has been a passionate advocate for sustainability in sport and has put his learnings from the Climate Leadership Course into practice in many ways.  For example, he led on the inaugural ReActive8 initiative (inspired by the Trash to Treasure initiative) which saw staff and students donate, recycle, exchange and reuse sports gear and equipment in partnership with Oxfam. Matthew along with the operations team and the Estates and Facilities Dept, purchased and installed a pool cover saving on energy use and reducing GHG emissions.

Eoin Cotter,

Education, Engagement & Strategy Lead,

Global Brain Health Institute.

Eoin co-ordinates the interdisciplinary CLICBrain consortium at the Global Brain Health Institute. Under Eoin’s coordination, the project brings together partners working across continents and contexts. This breadth is essential to addressing the intertwined realities of climate risk, environmental exposures, and inequality. Crucially, Dr Cotter’s leadership aligns sustainability with health equity, echoing the Institutes mission to address disparities in brain health outcomes worldwide.

Jack O'Connell

UG Student

For the past two years, Jack has championed men’s health in Trinity as a Movember Student Ambassador, speaking at events, sharing his story, and encouraging students to seek support. He founded Trinity’s central Movember student body, launched the inaugural Movember Ball in 2024, and led the “Rose of Trinity” campaign, engaging 12 students in awareness events throughout November. He also spoke at the Trinity Sport Movember and Men’s Mental Health Seminar alongside Richie Sadlier.

Carlos Mandolesi

Portfolio Manager,

Programme Management Office

Carlos was inspired to act after completing Climate Leadership training in Trinity with An Taisce. The training deepened his commitment to climate action and helped him apply this learning in multiple roles including as Volunteer Director of Social Impact and Sustainability with the Project Management Institute. He led a partnership with An Taisce for National Climate Action Week 2025, strengthening planning, expanding corporate engagement and increasing nationwide reach. This approach supported 282 events, engaging over 12,000 people and reaching 6.3 million through climate communications. Carlos is also trying to embed sustainability into the planning and delivery of the College’s capital projects.

Claire McAvinia

Senior Academic Developer

Claire is Senior Academic Developer & Strategic Initiatives Lead in the Centre for Academic Practice with responsibility to lead and coordinate ESD initiatives. Over the past year, Claire has designed and delivered a range of ESD-focused professional development activities, embedded ESD into CAP modules, and worked with Dr Caitríona Ní Shé on the development of an ESD Curriculum Design Framework for Trinity. Claire has represented the Trinity ESD team at HEA National Forum events and workshops and has presented on Trinity's ESD initiatives to a number of College Committees.  

Sarah Browne

Assistant Professor, TBS

Sarah collaborated with Healthy Trinity and tasked >100 students on her MSc in Social Marketing to create Sustainable and Healthy Social Marketing campaigns on e-cigarettes. The winning project was implemented last year when one of the students launched vape recycling bins and an associated social marketing campaign in collaboration with Estates and Facilities and Healthy Trinity. This academic year Sarah asked her students to develop a lobbying campaign to engage with an EU Tobacco Tax Directive that is currently under review. Sarah’s innovation and dedication has also been key in supporting the new e-cigarette free campus policy, a first for Irish Universities.

Green Labs Award

Dr Anne Mc Gettrick Dillon

Freya Ritterling

Rebekah Wells

Claire Murphy

Several outstanding candidates are being nominated for their leadership in lab sustainability including:

Anne is a Senior Research Fellow in Biochemistry where she stepped in to the voluntary role of Green Lab Lead within her research group, transforming an uncoordinated approach into a successful, lasting initiative. She enrolled the lab in the Green Lab certification process, conducted a full sustainability audit, and delivered training to staff and students. Her efforts led to the lab achieving a Platinum Green Lab Certificate under the new Green Lab 2.0 programme, making it one of the first 2.0 accredited labs in Trinity.

Freya, is a postgrad student and the Sustainability Officer in the Senge group where she actively promotes sustainable lab practices to her peers. Alongside her PhD research, she is leading the lab’s certification process with My Green Lab, positioning it to become the first organic research lab at Trinity to achieve this recognition.

Rebekah, is a Research Fellow in the School of Physics where she plays a key role in delivering Trinity’s Green Labs initiative, contributing to resource efficiency, waste reduction, and cultural change within her School. As a Green Labs Committee member, she collaborates across departments and central units to share best practice and integrates sustainability principles into her teaching.

Claire is a Chief Technical Officer in the Dept of Anatomy where she leads laboratory sustainability and certification efforts, driving significant reductions in glove use and cardboard waste. Her work has delivered measurable environmental improvements and qualifies her for recognition in both Research and Education categories.

Annemarie Bennett

Assistant Professor in Dietetics

Annemarie has been the academic lead for the Healthy Trinity Food group for the last decade and has been the academic dietetics lead for the development of Trinity’s first Sustainable Food Plan. As part of the development of the food plan she has co-ordinated two Living Labs focusing on plastics on campus and plant-based diets. She has been an incredible supporter of healthy eating on campus through her role with Healthy Trinity and is now working with partners to develop a Living Lab between the catering services in St James's Hospital and Trinity that aims to facilitate collaborative research and knowledge exchange.

COP 30 Working Group

The COP30 working group is made up of 22 postgraduate students from a range of disciplines who were selected from a group of 150 students to form the COP30 working group.  The working group was established to inform Trinity’s Observer Status under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The members of the working group were tasked with developing white papers on 5 key topics; Human Rights; Health, Biodiversity and Nature; Small Island Nations and Education. The members met up every week in subgroups, and once every two weeks all together, but other than that, the structure and approach was entirely up to students themselves. The groups were very self-organised which allowed the students to learn from each other, share ideas and work across disciplines.

Grace D’Arcy

Research Assistant Computer Sciences

Grace is the first dedicated team member of the Academy of the Near Future, where she has driven its growth from a pilot to a nationally recognised programme reaching over 3,000 young people in secondary schools. Her flagship programme, Design Your Future, is a week-long immersive experience where students explore sustainability themes and the programme empowers young people to develop practical skills as well as gaining confidence by presenting to city officials. She has also delivered this programme in collaboration with Trinity Sustainability and other key stakeholders. Her work has received national and international recognition, including a silver award at the Seoul Smart City Prize.

Library Sustainability Team

Helen Shenton

Sarah Vansnick

In 2024/25 the Library formed a Sustainability Group and over 40 members of staff joined sub-groups to discuss and prioritise sustainability actions around six themes. This work led to the development of the Library’s first Sustainability Action Plan which was launched in February. The Plan has been designed to integrate with the overall Trinity Sustainability Strategy  and is a key component of the Library’s commitment to the Green Library Manifesto. Special mention goes to the Librarian and College Archivist, Helen Shenton who continues to be a strong advocate for sustainability as well as the Chair of the Library Sustainability Steering Group, Sarah Vansnick.

Joint Winners:

School of Medicine

Viviana Marzaioli,

Daniel Johnston,

Beth Whitney

Prof Colin Doherty,

Trinity Global Mobilities Team

VP Global, Emma Stokes

Diana Santos.

The School of Medicine, led by Dr Viviana Marzaioli and Dr Daniel Johnston, with the support of the Head of School, Prof Colin Doherty and Trinity Global Mobilities team, led by VP Global Emma Stokes and Diana Santos, obtained Erasmus+ funding to establish a three year mobility programme to host medical students from areas of Palestine who are facing severe disruption to their education due to war and genocide. This mobility offers 18 fifth-year medical students from Al Azhar University-Gaza and the Islamic University Medical School of Jerusalem the opportunity to attend the School of Medicine at Trinity for a full academic year. They will be joined by 18 academic staff members from the same institutions, who will undertake consecutive two-month teaching and training visits.

Aditya Joshi, Julian Lewandowski, Roshan Chaudhrai

UG Students

Julian, Roshan, and Aditya created a platform called TyreTrack to address the environmental health problem associated with microplastic pollution from tyre wear. Tyre wear accounts for nearly one-third of all microplastics entering our environment: over 3 million tonnes globally each year. Children living near high-traffic roads face a 29% higher likelihood of developing asthma symptoms, yet this pollution remains largely invisible. TyreTrack makes the invisible visible. The team built a fully functional web platform (tyretrack.org) that maps tyre microplastic exposure hotspots across cities, highlighting risk zones near schools, crèches, and playgrounds. What began as a hackathon project is now part of Trinity LaunchBox, with the team in conversations with stakeholders to explore both policy influence and commercialisation pathways.

Erica Terese Krueger

Research Fellow

Erica serves as the postdoctoral representative on key committees, including the Biodiversity Committee and the School of Natural Sciences Research Committee. She is active in public engagement, contributing to RTÉ’s programme 10 Things to Know About and supporting outreach within the Dublin Bay Biosphere Reserve, including Biodiversity Week workshops and a National Heritage Week BioBlitz. She was appointed National Youth Focal Point for the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme in 2025, working to empower young leaders and advance sustainable development across the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Tony Dalton

Campus Maintenance Manager

Tony has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award due to his continued commitment and support for delivering sustainability projects & initiatives across all campus locations. Tony began working in Trinity 49 years ago and started his career with the security team in 1977. He became the Campus Maintenance Manager in 2016 and has been instrumental in upgrading & installing over 1,000 bike parking spaces as well as changing the practices of landscape maintenance to enhance nature through the No Mow May initiative, pollinator friendly planting and tree planting. He has been and continues to be an active member of the Green Campus Committee, Smarter Travel Committee and Ground & Gardens Advisory Group and is always open to new ideas as well as sharing his knowledge with students and staff. Tony was also involved in a special project this year which saw several abandoned bikes repurposed and given away to marginalised communities across Dublin.  Tony’s interest in biodiversity doesn’t stop in work as he has a wildflower meadow at home which his grandchildren love running through. Tony will be retiring later this year, and we will miss his generosity, friendly disposition and kindness but his legacy will be the 1,000’s of bike spaces filled every day, the new trees growing every year and the sounds of bees across our campus when our bee friendly flowers start to bloom.