De Montfort University's long-running programme to help Leicester organisations tackle the climate emergency has been recognised with an international award.
A case study developed by DMU's Dr Andrew Reeves was named one of the top three contributions to the SAMUELE initiative, a Europe-wide project mapping how universities support lifelong learning.
The award was presented at the annual conference of EUCEN, the principal European network for university lifelong learning, held this year in Cagliari, Italy.
The recognised work spans Carbon Literacy Training delivered to schools, businesses, local government bodies, community groups and social enterprises, alongside sustained contributions to local government policy development and training.
The training has been developed and delivered through the Universities Partnership, a collaboration to drive regional growth and innovation across the region between DMU, the University of Leicester and Loughborough University.
It is an accredited programme that equips participants with a working understanding of how everyday activities contribute to carbon emissions and what they can do to reduce them.
This ongoing work has in turn fed into several larger funded projects, including LEAF (Leicester Environmental Action and Future), which works with five local charities on climate action; a Universities and Communities study examining the civic role of UK universities drawing on practice in Cuba; and LCAN (Leicestershire Collaborate to Accelerate Net Zero), which delivered education and collaboration to advance climate action across the Leicestershire area.
Dr Reeves said: "The key ingredients that have made this work successful are our longstanding collaborative structures between local government and universities and all partners sharing an ethos of empowering our community to make a positive difference on climate change."
His work to share and disseminate this practice has been supported by a Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Fellowship.
A podcast featuring the SAMUELE award winners is available on Spotify.
Posted on Tuesday 23 June 2026