"My submission for the Sustainability Awards this year highlights the issue of White Washing and Scientific Racism in history and how a huge part of black British history has been forgotten and overlooked."

"We exist in an egocentric era of consumables and capitalism, that it is often more expensive and time consuming to make sustainable choices. It is my hope that in using digital technologies to visually communicate issues, I bring environmental art away from the Land Art of the 1970s and into 2017, in a method that minimises waste and brings the natural landscape to the attention of the disenfranchised, urban viewer."

"My work addresses a worsening social issue. There is a taboo associated with Alzheimer’s and Dementia and of other mental illnesses, which is not similarly reflected in other diseases such as cancer. In spite of this there is not enough research, funding or knowledge on the topic and I wish to change people's mindsets towards it, through understanding and experiencing one aspect of the disease for themselves."

"Flooding is a result of mankind’s harsh treatment of the environment. It has happened more frequently in Leeds in the past few years, and as a team, we want to raise awareness about flooding. We feel that the lightheartedness of Noelline’s flood story has a strong potential to be crafted into an animated film that can engage the audience emotionally, and foster inquiry into the climate change issue."

"We live in a disposable consumer society where everyone is obsessed with the new; the fashion industry is one of the largest culprits. I am deeply concerned with the environmental damage we are causing because of the sheer amount of waste we contribute to landfill. When I look at an old cereal packet or headphones that no longer work, I do not see trash, I see potential. I look at them and think how they can be manipulated in order to give them value."

"Through processes of foraging and manipulation an alchemic approach is established to produce sensitive and delicate work that ultimately enables an audience to look more closely at the materiality of the real world. By using materials that are otherwise overlooked or discarded I strive to re-understand matter through tactile making, presenting them in alternative ways."

"As a team of two graphic designers and one illustrator, we have created a children's story book addressing the issues of deforestation and how it is affecting rainforest ecosystems. It aims to subtly educate children by engaging their interest in rainforest habitats and the animals that live there, prompting them to want to learn more and live a sustainable lifestyle as they get older."

"Piece Of Eden is a fine art-documentary publication containing 33 photographs, divided into three sections and a short essay. The first section, Green Livin’, explores contemporary allotment culture around Leeds, depicting characterful hand-made structures amongst the people who occupy them."

The project was motivated by reports from the UK Waste & Recycling Advisory Board and Recoup UK Household Plastics Collective Survey.

"…as designers and consumers, the very least we can do is simply make better choices in terms of where we buy from, how frequently we purchase goods and how we dispose of them. Most importantly, I feel the best approach is to slow down consumption, and where possible, buy clothes that are seasonally durable, eco-friendly and timeless."

"How many bisexuals do you see in your day to day life? Chances are that you don’t see many, if any. And yet, bisexuals are nowhere to be seen. Not in entertainment, not in the media, not in politics. The sparse examples of bisexual people well-known to the population are notable by their exotic rarity."

"There is an obligation emerging within the industry to introduce sustainability into every aspect of the design process. This will provide designers with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes needed to work and live in a way that safeguards the environment and encourages social and economic well-being, not just in the present but for the future generations."

"This is one of a series of illustrations created to raise awareness of the risks posed towards the Bornean and Sumatran Orangutan. The brief was to create a series of poster designs for a WWF campaign on Orangutans, targeted towards an audience of young adults. This illustration focuses on the effects of deforestation caused by illegal logging, mining and the destruction of natural habitat for palm oil plantations."

"I wanted to encapsulate this issue of diminishing demand for public transport (despite its logical need, practically speaking) and arrive at a solution based outcome of quite literally making it ‘fashionable to take the bus’."

"Baa blah is a sustainable fashion brand that works together with its local farming community to create 100% wool clothing. Baa blah focuses on the popular topic of sustainability and successfully tackles the idea of how it can be seen as ‘boring’. Our main aim as a brand is to challenge and change people’s perceptions of sustainability by creating highly fashionable and colourful fun garments that don’t otherwise look stereotypically ‘sustainable’."

"As a society, we need to work together to solve the social issues within the modern world. Even by making a small contribution people are making way for bigger things. I feel that through my work, brand identity and approach to sustainability I am creating contemporary pieces of menswear which allow consumers to be part of a socially driven fashion brand that gives back to society."

"I started to look at the living conditions and experiences of the Roma people based in the Bihor region of Romania, close to the border with Hungary. As a person of GRT (Gypsy, Roma, Traveller) heritage, this piece of work is incredibly important to me and I sought to highlight the issues surrounding ethnic and cultural sustainability, whilst seeking to be accepted by mainstream society."

"Convenience foods such as pre-packed lunches use packaging that is designed to be thrown away immediately after the product is eaten, and not always in a responsible manner. It is necessary to find a much more sustainable solution to this issue where the consumer will be made aware of this waste problem."

"This body of work was produced to help a charity called Leeds Women's Aid. The charity assists women and children that have been effected by domestic violence and need a safe space to stay. This collective body of work contributes to social sustainability as each of these works helped the charity in different and significant ways. The dolls house was made from scratch and customised for the refuge and will be enjoyed and appreciated by the children and hopefully the adults too."

"My project was based on biophilia, defined as ‘an innate and genetically determined affinity of human beings with the natural world’. I saw no specific references to biophilia within the textiles industry and sought to address this, the aim being to arrive at a set of principles which could be used to influence new thinking within textiles, as well as a set of samples to indicate how they could be used."

"My project Green Spaces looks at the impact man has on the natural world and what we are doing to combat this reduction in forests and green spaces that once existed in England. The project focuses on London and the importance of the green spaces within the city. Green spaces are key as the population grows and housing will need to increase and expand we need not undermine the importance of these spaces."

"In this project I’m addressing new technology and ideas for recycling with new attitudes on how we treat earth as a waste basket. I looked at waste material in modern design. I wanted to design products that Paraguayans could make and sell (commercially) from waste and to create a localised recycling plant that encourages community rejuvenation all from using waste as a material."

"The illustrated essay uses the culture of hunting as a catalyst to discuss our relationship with the natural world. By discussing ethical and conservation issues, changing culture and tradition, as well as mental well being, the piece focuses mainly on social and environmental sustainability."

"The seed paper is made from recycled cardboard, paper and grass seeds, from which the grass can grow once activated by water. My concept of seed paper could help to recycle and reuse paper as a base to grow a plant from, which in turn reduces carbon dioxide."

"The specific issue that I want to address is the air pollution that is created by cars and other motor vehicles in Leeds. Taking an alternative method of transport is not always possible but in a city where everything is a relatively close distance away, methods of transport like walking and cycling should be viable for many people that currently use a car."

"These ceramic cups are based on Japanese Tea Cups and have sustainability at the heart of their production. They are hand thrown and low bisque fired (using the least possible energy to be made) and left without a glaze which means they are slightly porous. The porous nature of the cup allows for the tea to stain the clay."

"Environmentally it is sound due to the use of Fairtrade, organic cotton and coffee, as well as recycled paper. Socially it rejects the reckless use of labour and poor working conditions in the fashion industry. With the waste product being free of charge, this makes the ink production cost effective, as the used grouts would otherwise be thrown away."

"Currently only 5% of all that is recycled is reused, with the remaining reaching landfills or the ocean.  By polluting the ocean, death amongst marine life can result due to waste often being mistaken as a food source. Thus, I chose to focus on plastic waste in particular due to its non- biodegradable and harmful nature."

"The ‘essentials’ we need for living are constantly rising in price and more people are finding it harder to afford living. My work is to help people discover and understand this issue. Most people understand budgeting for living but not why this is becoming harder. This is an economic issue that needs sustainability."

"Through this project I explored how both handicraft and sustainability of resources can be brought together to create a piece that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also educating. I feel that sustainability of craft can challenge the negative impact of fast fashion. By increasing a textile items worth by hand process also increases the emotional value of the textile, which increases their longevity, and therefore less waste, making textile design itself more sustainable."

"Not only is reforestation beneficial to the environment, it also impacts people involved socially and economically. Villagers at risk of slavery is reduced, there is a decrease in extreme poverty, and an increased crop yield. Reforestation also results in an improvement in water purity, and restoration of animal habitats. I demonstrated this in the piece, as when the piece progresses, the various layers of the plants transform into different ways in which reforestation benefits the community."

"I have created an illustrated concertina which highlights the issues of gentrification we face today within a modern society. The Leeds architectural landscape is the subject I have chosen to use to address this issue. As an informative book, gentrification recognises there is an unpredictability and incomplete visions of cities and towns, to emphasise this aspect I have tried to incorporate elements of obscurity."

“Some estimations claim that the cocoa plant will be extinct before 2030 due to a fungal disease. We are a nation of chocolate lovers – on average we each eat 22 pounds of chocolate every year (the same as 220 small bars of Cadburys Diary Milk). This is unsustainable. Our mission was to find a solution to maintain the chocolate you already have, encouraging healthier alternatives, and creating awareness of the issues within the cocoa bean industry.”

"Approximately 16 million people across the UK suffer from illnesses like anxiety and depression each year and 1 in 50 students in England has registered a mental health condition with their university. “I’m Here For You” explores how mental health is represented throughout the media, and aims to create a more accurate depiction. I produced photographs so that people affected by mental health conditions, or friends and family of those who are, find comfort from my work."

"Even on the surface, throwaway culture is harmful in its wastefulness, as it utilises limited resources at a rate that cannot be sustained, and produces excess that is filling up landfill sites at a worryingly rapid rate. Deeper within this, however, is the psychological havoc that consumerism wreaks on society. As everything becomes disposable, and replaceability is commonplace, the consumer is less able to see the value and worth in the items that surround them...”

"Air pollution is responsible for 7 million premature deaths worldwide every year, and almost 55,000 in the UK alone. Pearl is a concept for an app that would allow users to track the air quality at their location, increasing public awareness of a mostly unspoken-of public health emergency. It utilises a simple and attractive aesthetic, backed up by the science of colour theory, which simply and easily communicates the state of the air."

"I wanted to reference the naivety people have toward waste and global warming, in thinking it doesn’t affect their health and safety as it isn’t an instant impact on people’s lives. This also highlights the irony of health by using a medical substance to improve health for it to then negatively affect the environments health. The used packet reinstates a key change we need to make in the use of plastic - a non-biodegradable material – that has a significant impact on global warming.”

"I want to stress the importance of reducing the amount of trees that are cut down. This issue is simply overlooked because people don’t see it happening in their everyday lives. Many people aren’t aware of how many forests are being removed on a daily basis in order to provide for the worldwide demand of wood and paper."

"I felt that the subject matter of this piece of work was relevant in correlation to sustainability, as it links very much to what is sustainable in the sense of lifestyle. Being a student, it is imperative to do the best that you can, but your own health is the most important thing at the centre of it all. To achieve to a high standard, we should all remember to look after ourselves before anything else."

"I feel that whilst my project is geared towards save the rhino I hope it will also help to stimulate awareness about other species that are also facing potential extinction. I hope to evoke this through my tagline ‘stronger together or lost forever’ as it highlights that we need a collective help to save the rhino, but can also be interpreted in terms of other sustainability issues within the environment."

"Social sustainability is inherent in this project, as the subject itself centres around people, mutual respect, and a move towards gender equality. The reason for choosing this topic was to use sustainable design to enhance the wellbeing of not just women who strive for leadership, but also their families, friends, and young girls who may view them as role models."

"My piece investigates Yemeni culture and the current civil war. I came across the fact that Yemen used to be the centre of the world’s coffee trade; this interested me and I wanted to see if I could use coffee as a sustainable material. After a cup of coffee is made, the grounds are thrown away, almost always ending up in a landfill. By immersing them in latex, it binds them together in a way which can then make them a workable material."

"My submission is a redesign of the Vernon Street courtyard, completed as part of a project done earlier this year. The design works-on-the theme of Greening Grey Britain, a national initiative to improve the quality of Britain’s cities. It is based on some of the ideas within the sustainability framework."

"The body of work focuses on a 0.28 mile stretch of beach in Penzance, Cornwall called Eastern Green after Storm Frank hit back on 30 December 2015. The images were taken the morning after the storm. Each piece of rubbish that washed up onto that 0.28 mile stretch of beach was photographed, over 180 images were checked."

"The subject matter for this piece is the youth hostel in Breda, The Netherlands, where I stayed when I studied abroad through Erasmus+. The building itself is from 1884. Now it is used as a youth hostel that houses student (mainly international) and young people who can’t find a place to live. Instead of building so many new buildings, could we not do more to refurbish old buildings that are already there?"

"Throughout history, feminism has become more influential and we have progressed milestones from the sexism that women used to experience. However, women still face discrimination such as the gender pay gap, sexual assaults, double standards and objectification. I hope that my comic helps to educate and empower in a way that defeats these issues and keeps society moving forward in order to become closer to gender equality."

"2016 and 2017 have seen enormous political changes both in the UK and globally, and I wanted to try and make sense of this through a lens of socio-economic inequality. I see the challenges regarding poverty as one of the biggest facing my generation, and believe as artists and citizens we have a responsibility to examine and reflect on these issues of sustainability, through critical enquiry, and raising awareness."