Newham College Group has been named winner of the Excellence in Waste Management Award at the Green Awards UK 2026, recognised for a data-driven, circular waste strategy that has achieved zero landfill across its campuses while reducing waste generation, increasing recycling, and expanding IT reuse through a model built on practical, low-cost interventions and sustained behaviour change.

The awards ceremony took place on 25 September 2026 at the Park Plaza London Riverbank, bringing together the UK's sustainability sector to celebrate a year of outstanding environmental achievement across green businesses, sustainable companies, and individuals driving meaningful change.

The programme's strength lies in its integration across governance, education, and campus operations simultaneously. Rather than treating waste management as an operational matter alone, Newham College Group has embedded it into how the institution teaches and behaves, creating the conditions for environmental values to take root across staff and student communities rather than residing only in policy documents and reporting frameworks.

The use of Leanpath for food waste monitoring, strong data-driven performance tracking, and a collaboration model that spans departments and campuses gave judges clear evidence of a programme operating with both rigour and scalability. Carbon savings, measurable reductions in waste, and increased recycling rates provide the quantified outcomes that distinguish this submission from initiatives built on intent rather than delivery.

For green companies and sustainable businesses across the UK's education sector, Newham College Group's approach offers a compelling and replicable model that demonstrates how circular economy principles can be applied effectively within the specific constraints and opportunities of a multi-campus educational environment.

The judging panel recognised Newham College Group's clear and pragmatic approach, noting its achievement of zero landfill alongside reduced waste generation, increased recycling, expanded IT reuse, and the use of Leanpath and robust data-driven monitoring as evidence of a sustained and genuine commitment to environmental improvement.

As the Green Awards UK look ahead to the next cycle, the question for the UK's education and sustainability communities is clear: who will build on this standard and show that waste reduction at institutional scale can go even further?

For the complete 2026 winners list, category insights, and judges’ profiles, visit the official Green Awards UK website.