‘Green League’ ranks universities on environmental performance

A new university league table ranks institutions of higher education based upon their environmental credentials.

‘The Green League 2008′, researched and published by student campaign group People & Planet, awards UK universities with a First, a 2:1, a 2:2, a Third, or a Fail based upon their environmental performance.

Nine factors are taken into consideration, including whether the university has an environmental policy, how much waste is recycled by the university, and whether the university has fairtrade status.

South West universities performed the best, with the top three places on the league table being taken by universities in Gloucestershire, Plymouth and Bristol.

Some of the most prestigious universities in the country were awarded a Fail, including Imperial College London and the Royal Academy of Music.

It is the second year in a row that People and Planet have published the Green League, and the last 12 months have seen big environmental improvements at many universities.

In the past year 18 universities have appointed a full time environment officer, and 25 universities have increased the proportion of renewable energy that they use.

86 universities reduced their carbon emissions, and 97% of universities now have an environmental policy that is publicly available.

One of the biggest improvers this year was the University of Huddersfield, which moved 63 places up the table into 8th position.

Awarded a Third last year, Huddersfield decided to improve by appointing a full time environment officer, a sustainable travel officer, and by setting recycling targets of 25% - eventually these were smashed, with 46% of waste recycled.

Commenting on the Green League, Wes Street, president of the National Union of Students, said that a university’s environmental rating is now a key consideration for many prospective students when choosing where to study.