Sustainability Photographer of the Year 2021

2020 winning image by Tansy Branscombe, DPhil Archaeological Science, Brasenose College: "Where the Wild things (Always) Were"

We invite the University community members to share what environmental sustainability means to you as individuals through your camera lenses. Entries will be accepted until 10 June 2021.

The University of Oxford Sustainability Photographer of the Year Award 2021 offers you an opportunity to exhibit your skill, gain recognition, and play an important role by connecting individuals, day-to-day Oxford life with environmental sustainability. You have the chance to be crowned 'Sustainability Photographer of the Year 2021’, receive a large print of your winning image, and two runners up will also receive smaller prints of theirs.

The theme we will focus on this year is ‘looking forward’. Thinking about our sustainable future in light of lessons learned from the pandemic, having a new environmental sustainability strategy and building back better.

Who can enter?

Any current staff member or student from the University of Oxford with a valid ID card can enter.

How to submit

Please use this form to submit your entry. You may submit up to five photos. 

Please make sure you read and agree to the terms and conditions listed below. For any technical problems with submission, please email sustainability@admin.ox.ac.uk.

Judging and prizes

All students and staff of the University are invited to enter the competition. The criteria applied by the judging panel in determining the winner and runners-up will be the aesthetic quality of the image, its ability to bring sustainability to life, an Oxford focus to issues of global significance, and adherence to the aims as described in this guidance.

For all prizes, the judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence may be entered into. If the winner cannot be contacted, the University of Oxford reserves the right to offer the prize to another shortlisted entry. If the prize is not collected within six months, or within an agreed timeframe between the winner and the University of Oxford, the University of Oxford is not required to provide the prize to that individual.

How are the winners announced?

The winners and runners up will be contacted via email in July 2021 and then publicly announced on the Environmental Sustainability website.

Will you use information in my application for publicity purposes?

Please note that by submitting an application, you agree for your submission to be used by the University in publicity materials both in print and online. If we do use your image, we will credit you as the photographer wherever this is feasible.

Terms and conditions

• Complete your submission form by 10 June 2021. 
• You can submit up to five photographs to this competition using the same form. Before submitting your application, ensure you understand and have met the terms and conditions outlined on this page.
• All photographs must be submitted digitally as JPEGs; we will also accept GIFs. 
• No borders, watermarks or signatures should be included.
• The pictures can have been taken at any time.
• Include your surname within the image file name.
• The photographs might be presented at University of Oxford Environmental Sustainability events.
• All submitted entries must be the original work of the entrant. The entrant must be the sole owner of the entire sole copyright for all images entered. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure compliance with this requirement.
• If you have submitted a photograph of an individual or a group in a private setting, you must have obtained the person’s prior consent for the use of that photograph in accordance with the rules of this contest. Entrants must ensure that they have the consent of any subjects of their photograph(s) before entering the competition.
• By entering, entrants will be deemed to be bound by the rules, and the University of Oxford reserves the right to exclude any entry from the competition at any time if there is reason to believe that an entrant has breached the rules. 
• By entering the competition, you agree to your name, biographical information (specifically your name and college/department) and submitted image(s) being used by the University of Oxford for the following purposes: (i) publication in print materials, (ii) publication online; and (iii) promotion of the University of Oxford in any other media.
• By entering the competition, you grant the University of Oxford a non-exclusive licence to use your image(s). You retain the copyright for your image(s).
• Photographs may be reviewed from the competition if it is felt that it does not meet these requirements.