24 October 2023 
Sarah Clayton, CUBO Events and Engagement Manager
CUBO business partner Hazaar has won a prestigious award for innovation in the global education sector.
The start-up digital business picked up the Sustainability International Impact award at the PIEoneer Awards 2023 for its efforts in helping universities build circular economies on campus.
Founder, Harriet Noy started the business at university as an online group to help students buy and sell unwanted items, cutting down on landfill, and encouraging reusability, as well as making sure that sustainability is fun for all.
It has developed into a bespoke app which is offered to universities as a tool to allow students to become more sustainable, and even start their own small businesses.
Hazaar has teamed with seven universities and hopes to have signed up 20 by the end of this academic year. There are also conversations about taking the business internationally at some point, she said.
The business is currently opening at around three universities a month, with every set-up employing five students and providing them with business and work experience.
As well as acting as an online market for student sales and purchases, Hazaar also organises pop-up markets where transactions can happen face-to-face and where students can even sell items they have made themselves.
The business has also developed drop-off points where Hazaar collects, sorts, stores and rehomes items for first-year students to stock their flats with second-hand items.
Noy said the PIEoneer award was a recognition of the contribution Hazaar is making to sustainability in the higher education sector.
“This award means so much to our team and we honestly just can’t believe that we won,” she said. “We were up against global organisations, such as the University of Sydney and Canadian universities and we’re just so grateful to be recognised on a global stage for all of our hard work.”
Hazaar, which was present at CUBO’s summer conference in Glasgow, said the event had led to useful conversations with education institutions and accommodation providers.
