University sustainability rankings 2022/23

by Laura Brown in Sixth form & college, Study Tips

Updated by Nele van Hout
6 December 2022

Unis are under increasing pressure to be kinder to the environment. But how many are taking action? These university rankings reveal the best and worst places for sustainability.

Credit: Tetiana Shumbasova (background) – Shutterstock

The general UK university rankings can tell us a lot. But, when it comes to some of the issues we really care about, like (a big one!) the planet, they can fall a bit short.

If you've been wondering how sustainable your university is, wonder no more. Here are the comprehensive results charting the environmental and ethical performance of unis in the UK.

How the university sustainability league is calculated

These rankings were compiled by People & Planet and included 153 universities across the UK.

As you can see in the results below, each university's been given a total percentage score. This is worked out based on their performance in 14 categories:

Environmental policy and strategy
Environmental auditing and management systems
Managing carbon
Sustainable food
Ethical investment and banking
Ethical careers and recruitment
Staff and HR
Workers' rights
Staff and student engagement
Education for sustainable development
Energy sources
Waste and recycling
Carbon education
Water reduction.

Each university's scores across all categories are combined, with some categories carrying more weight than others. An overall total percentage is calculated, and the higher the total percentage, the higher the ranking.

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Most sustainable universities in the UK

These are the 10 most sustainable universities in the UK:

Cardiff Metropolitan University – 82.3%
University of Bedfordshire – 81.3%
Manchester Metropolitan University – 79.9%
University of Reading – 75.8%
University of the Arts, London – 74.5%
University of Exeter – 72.2%
University College London – 71.8%
University of Greenwich – 70.7%
University of Salford – 70.6%
Bangor University – 70.3%.

If you're wondering how Cardiff Metropolitan University managed to come out top in these rankings, it probably had something to do with scoring 100% for environmental auditing and management systems, 100% for staff and HR, 100% for sustainable foods, 100% for education for sustainable development and (you guessed it!) 100% for carbon reduction. Wow.

Cardiff Metropolitan University's response

How did Cardiff Metropolitan University respond to being number one for sustainability?

The university's President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cara Aitchison, told us:

We describe our Cardiff Met community as being ‘values driven’ and so focusing on the development of our ethical and environmental performance is wholly aligned with this approach. The entire Cardiff Met community is delighted to have been named the number one university in the UK for sustainability. I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly to contribute to this significant national achievement.

This week sees the launch of Strategy 2030, our new strategic plan, which places sustainability firmly at its heart by identifying ‘Low Carbon Futures’ as one of five strategic priorities for the university. One of our other priorities is the development of ‘Campus 2030’ with major investment in our university estate resulting from a Master Plan that is currently being finalised and which includes ambitious targets for the creation of a net zero carbon estate by 2030. As we embark on these next steps it is especially pleasing to know how well we are currently performing in comparison to over 150 universities in the UK.

Our students can be assured they are part of a community which takes its responsibility to the environment and sustainability seriously and which has and will continue to make further strides over the coming years so that we all play our part in tackling the climate emergency.

While places like Cardiff Metropolitan University are leading the way in terms of sustainability, others, in comparison, are doing much (much!) less. Let's hope your uni doesn't appear on the list below.

10 least sustainable universities

These are the 10 worst universities for sustainability:

Writtle University College – 10.2%
Royal Northern College of Music – 8.2%
London Business School – 7.6%
Royal Veterinary College – 6.9%

University College Birmingham – 6.9%

Royal Academy of Music – 6.4%
University of Sunderland – 4.8%
Ravensbourne University London – 4.4%
The University College of Osteopathy – 3.5%
Stranmillis University College – 2.2%.

Scoring 0% across 12 categories, including sustainable food, sustainability staff and ethical investment, Stranmillis University College is placed 153rd out of 153 universities.

But, it's important to note that, if People & Planet can't find information for some categories (i.e. if the university hasn't made some info public), they will give them a score of zero. So, we hope, Stranmillis University College may be a bit more sustainable than the results suggest.

If you've not seen your university yet, check out the full university league table for sustainability below.

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Full university league table for sustainability

Ranking	University	Total score
1	Cardiff Metropolitan University	82.3%
2	University of Bedfordshire	81.3%
3	Manchester Metropolitan University	79.9%
4	University of Reading	75.8%
5	University of the Arts, London (UAL)	74.5%
6	University of Exeter	72.2%
7	University College London (UCL)	71.8%
8	University of Greenwich	70.7%
9	University of Salford	70.6%
10	Bangor University	70.3%
11	Nottingham Trent University	69.8%
12	King's College London	69.7%
13	Swansea University	68.4%
14	University of Worcester	66.9%
15	Northumbria University	66.8%
16	University of Bristol	66.1%
17	University of West London	65.3%
18	Bath Spa University	64.8%
19=	Bournemouth University	64.7%
19=	De Montfort University	64.7%
21	Newcastle University	64.4%
22	University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE)	64.1%
23	London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)	63.9%
24	University of Hull	63.8%
25	Coventry University	62.6%
26	Birmingham City University	62%
27	Plymouth University	61.8%
28	Royal College of Music, London	60%
29	University of Kent	59.9%
30	Aston University	59.4%
31=	University of Essex	58.9%
31=	University of Wales Trinity Saint David	58.9%
33	University of Winchester	58.4%
34	Oxford Brookes University	57%
35	Queen Mary University of London	56.9%
36	Glyndwr University	56.2%
37=	Brunel University London	56.1%
37=	Edinburgh Napier University	56.1%
39	Durham University	56%
40	University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)	54.2%
41	University of Oxford	54.1%
42	Canterbury Christ Church University	53.7%
43	Sheffield Hallam University	52.4%
44	City, University of London	51.8%
45	Birkbeck, University of London	51.7%
46	Liverpool John Moores University	51.1%
47	University of Liverpool	50.9%
48	Keele University	50.5%
49	University of Leeds	49.7%
50	Cardiff University	49.4%
51	Glasgow Caledonian University	49.3%
52	University of Warwick	49.2%
53	London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine	49.1%
54	University of Portsmouth	48.6%
55	University of Huddersfield	48.5%
56	University of Manchester	47.8%
57	University of East Anglia	47.7%
58	University of Derby	47.3%
59	Leeds Beckett University	47.2%
60	University of Stirling	46.7%
61	Middlesex University	46.4%
62	University of Northampton	46.3%
63	Lancaster University	46.1%
64	Guildhall School of Music and Drama	45.9%
65=	University of Aberdeen	44.6%
65=	Anglia Ruskin University	44.6%
67	Cranfield University	44.5%
68	SOAS, University of London	44.4%
69=	University of York	44.1%
69=	Arts University Bournemouth	44.1%
71=	University of Brighton	43.6%
71=	Ulster University	43.6%
73	University of Leicester	43.3%
74	Kingston University	43%
75=	University of Glasgow	42.8%
75=	Solent University	42.8%
77	Loughborough University	42.7%
78=	University of Hertfordshire	42.5%
78=	University of Chester	42.5%
80	University of Westminster	42.3%
81	University of Edinburgh	42.2%
82	London Metropolitan University	42%
83	University of Sheffield	41.7%
84	University of Cambridge	40.7%
85=	York St John University	39%
85=	Bishop Grosseteste University	39%
87	University of Sussex	38.6%
88=	University of South Wales	37.9%
88=	University of St Andrews	37.9%
90	Buckinghamshire New University	37.3%
91	Staffordshire University	37.2%
92	University of Bradford	36.7%
93	University of Suffolk	36.5%
94	Queen's University of Belfast	36.4%
95	University of Nottingham	36.1%
96	University of Chichester	35.5%
97	University of Lincoln	35.4%
98	University of Strathclyde	35.3%
99	Teesside University	35.2%
100	St Mary's University, Twickenham	35.1%
101	University of Gloucestershire	34.5%
102	University for the Creative Arts	34.3%
103	University of St Mark and St John	34%
104	Royal Holloway, University of London	33.6%
105=	Imperial College London	33.4%
105=	Falmouth University	33.4%
107	University of Bath	32.9%
108	University of Surrey	32.1%
109	Robert Gordon University	31.7%
110	Liverpool Hope University	31.3%
111	Aberystwyth University	31%
112	University of Cumbria	30.9%
113	University of the West of Scotland (UWS)	30.7%
114	University of Abertay Dundee	30.5%
115	London South Bank University	30.4%
116	The Open University	30.1%
117	The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama	29.7%
118	University of Southampton	28.9%
119	Heriot-Watt University	28.6%
120	Leeds Trinity University	28.5%
121=	Goldsmiths, University of London	27.2%
121=	The Institute of Cancer Research	27.2%
123	Harper Adams University	23.9%
124	University of Dundee	23.7%
125=	University of Wolverhampton	22.1%
125=	Glasgow School of Art	22.1%
127	Newman University	21.5%
128	Edge Hill University	21.2%
129	Leeds Arts University	20.6%
130=	Queen Margaret University	20.2%
130=	Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance	20.2%
132=	University of East London	19.9%
132=	St. Mary's University College Belfast	19.9%
134	Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance	19.7%
135	Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	18.3%
136	Royal College of Art	16%
137	Royal Agricultural University	15.5%
138	University of Birmingham	15.4%
139	Norwich University of the Arts	14.8%
140	Roehampton University	13.6%
141	St George's, University of London	13.3%
142	University of the Highlands and Islands	11%
143	University of Bolton	10.5%
144	Writtle University College	10.2%
145	Royal Northern College of Music	8.2%
146	London Business School	7.6%
147=	Royal Veterinary College	6.9%
147=	University College Birmingham	6.9%
149	Royal Academy of Music	6.4%
150	University of Sunderland	4.8%
151	Ravensbourne University London	4.4%
152	The University College of Osteopathy	3.5%
153	Stranmillis University College	2.2%

While we've noticed some big movements in the table compared to last year's, there is still work to be done.

J Clarke, Co-Director of Climate Campaigns at People & Planet said:

With significant movement in the 2022/23 People & Planet University League ranking it is clear that complacency is not an option for institutions seeking to perform well on ethics and sustainability criteria.

One key area that UK universities must take action on is ending recruitment relationships with oil, gas and mining companies, highlighted by only 3% of the sector having implemented such policies in the year’s ranking. It is vital that we end the recruitment pipeline into the industries most responsible for the climate crisis, and universities meet that challenge urgently.

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How to live sustainably on a budget

Credit: Watchara Ritjan – Shutterstock

Sometimes, it can feel like an impossible task to save the environment and your bank account. But, thankfully, there are ways to live more sustainably without spending a fortune.

One easy way to cut down on plastic waste, and save money in the process, is by no longer buying cups of coffee or bottled drinks.

Buying a reusable container like a travel coffee cup will make a big difference. After the initial purchases, you'll be able to fill them up for free with tap water. Some coffee shops also give you a discount for using your own cup.

Also, you can avoid food waste (and the extra cost of replacing out-of-date food) with some careful changes to how you buy and store food.

On top of this, make sure you know what you can and can't recycle.

There are even things you can recycle for money, such as clothes, plastic bags, mobile phones and more.

Find out more in our guide to the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. The tips can help you save (or even make) money.