Northumbria
University has been rated as ‘first class’ for sustainability and is the
highest ranked university in the North East in the latest People & Planet
University league table.
People & Planet’s University League is annually
compiled by the UK’s largest student campaigning network, People & Planet.
It is the only comprehensive and independent league table of universities
ranked against sustainability and ethics criteria.
More than
150 universities and smaller specialist institutions were included in the table,
which ranked Northumbria as 17th overall for sustainability in the
UK.
This year’s rankings
provided the first opportunity to analyse how the Covid-19 pandemic has
impacted the sector’s sustainability performance.
A signatory
of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Accord, Northumbria scored an
impressive 100% of all available marks on environmental policy criteria.
The
University’s Environmental Sustainability Policy considers the impact its
activities have on the wider environment and aims to minimise this impact. This
policy is reviewed and updated regularly, working towards ambitious targets in waste
management, transport, sustainable procurement, water, construction and
refurbishment as well as emissions and discharges, community involvement and
biodiversity.
Northumbria
also achieved full marks for its auditing and environmental management systems,
which are externally verified by specialist industry
bodies, and a remarkable 97% in education for sustainable development.
An approach
characterised by being proactive in main-streaming sustainability across the
curriculum, ‘Education for sustainable development’ means equipping students
with the knowledge and understanding, skills and attributes needed to work and
live in a way that safeguards environmental, social and economic wellbeing,
both in the present and for future generations.
Another
top-performing area was staff and student engagement, scoring an impressive 90%
for this measure of assessment. Staff and students are invited to assist and
oversee the development and ongoing monitoring of Northumbria’s environmental
policy. Actively supporting an environment themed week and student-led
sustainability projects as well as local community partnerships are just some
of the ways that the University encourages engagement in the sustainability
agenda among its staff and students.
Having
incorporated changes to carbon intensity, reducing carbon emissions and water
consumption, People & Planet rated Northumbria at a notable 78% for carbon
reduction and 72% for water reduction.
Strong
results were also seen for ethical investment, in which Northumbria scored 88%,
ranking 2nd nationally, due to the University’s commitment to ensure
that its investments and banking practices are conducted transparently and in
an economically viable and responsible manner.
Commenting
on the results, Professor George Marston, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Strategic
Projects) and sustainability lead for Northumbria, said: “Northumbria
University is supporting the response to some of the biggest challenges facing
the world today, including the global fight against climate change.
“From
institutional and individual commitments, through to innovative research teams
bringing multidisciplinary perspectives to a huge range of studies, the
University is taking action to address the impact of climate change and help
ensure a safer, more stable future for our planet.
“We
are thrilled to see our sustainability efforts recognised so positively through
People & Planet’s University League for 2021. We are delighted to be ranked
so highly, both within the top 20 in the UK overall, and as the best university
in the North East region.
“I
would like to thank all those staff and students who work so hard to ensure
that sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.”
For more
information about Northumbria’s sustainability efforts, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/sustainability.
