Staffordshire University Students' Union's three venues have been ranked within the top eight in the country amongst Students' Unions and the Union's environmental efforts have been recognised once again, winning the top Green Impact award three years in a row.
Under Best Bar None, a Home Office supported scheme that promotes responsible management and operation of alcohol licensed premises, all three of the Union's social spaces received the top Gold award. The three venues – The Lounge on the Stafford campus, Verve on the Leek Rd campus in Stoke and Ember Lounge on the College Rd campus in Stoke – were awarded Gold for the first time for their efforts in campaigning on safety and the danger of legal highs.
This is also the fourth year running that Staffs has received Green Impact's highest award of Gold, with the Union attaining Green Impact Excellence last year for its work on computer recycling. This year's scores also demonstrated that Staffs is above the national average for large and commercial Unions similar to Staffs.
The awards were received at the NUS Services Convention on the evening of Wednesday 16 April in Manchester. The event saw Unions across the country being recognised for their social spaces under Best Bar None and environmental work through the Green Impact awards.
Students' Union Vice President, Dayo Odubonojo, said: "I'm so proud of Staffs today as once again we've proved that our services are of the highest quality and work to enhance the community around them.
"Green Impact has demonstrated that we are one of the greenest Unions in the country, which is a fantastic achievement. With our green property service GreenPad already named as the top NUS Students' Green Fund project in the country and our work with Staffordshire University to get them into the top 20 of the Green Gown Awards, we hope to be leading the environmental efforts in Staffordshire communities in the years to come. We believe in organisations working responsibly with their local community, so we will be encouraging other organisations to adopt ethical and sustainable practices and look forward to working with the University on their new Corporate Social Responsibility Board to deliver a sustainable and positive future for Staffordshire."