Newcastle University ranked in the Premier League of green universities

Newcastle University is ranked in the Premier League of green universities, a new study reveals.

Newcastle, UK, 21-1-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — The University has scooped a First Class Award and is ranked joint 12th out of 151 universities in the People & Planet University League 2015.

The League, an annual ranking by the national student campaign group, assesses the environmental and ethical performance of all universities, awarding First Class ‘degrees’ to the greenest and Fail to those doing the least to address their environmental and social impacts.

The ranking reveals consistently high performance across multiple categories, including environmental policy (100% score), auditing and environmental management systems (100%), carbon management (90%) and environmental staff (85%).

Newcastle University has achieved a ‘First’ 3 years in a row, and is one of only 30 Higher Education institutions across the UK to achieve a ‘First’ in the 2015 league.

Professor Tony Stevenson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Planning and Resources at Newcastle University, said: “Newcastle University’s performance in the latest People & Planet Green League ranking highlights our commitment to continue investing in our campus to offer the best possible facilities, while providing an environmentally friendly and welcoming place for our students, staff and visitors.

“Our Environmental Management System provides our dedicated sustainability team with a solid improvement framework. This approach has helped the University maintain a recycling rate above 90%, reduce the number of single occupancy car drivers to work from 40% in 2004 to 16.5% in 2014, and expand its fleet of electric vehicles and campus charging points.

“Sustainability and finding innovative ways to manage the use of the earth’s finite resources is also a key focus of our academic research at Newcastle University. This includes including  the launch of our Smart Grid project – a test bed for the future of energy storage and low carbon electricity generation, and Smartfusion –  a new freight consolidation project employing electric vehicles for campus-wide deliveries.“

Hannah Smith, People & Planet University League Manager, said: “Newcastle University is proving to be one of the UK’s leading universities for environmental standards. People & Planet celebrate their achievements and commitment to reducing waste and carbon emissions, as well as working on sustainability across the board to bring about a culture of change in social and environmental practice.

“It’s the progressive universities, those ranking top 30 in the league, that are setting an example of what can be achieved in higher education, responding with speed to the oncoming challenges of climate change and global inequality”.

Staff and students have been vital to improving sustainability at the University contributing through programmes such as Green Impact, where those taking part win awards following an online workbook of actions to green their workplace.

Key Facts:

• Newcastle University is a Russell Group University
• Ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2014)
• Ranked 16th in the UK for global research power (REF 2014)
• Ranked 22nd in The Sunday Times 2015 Good University Guide
• Amongst our peers Newcastle is:
  • Joint 6th in the UK for student satisfaction
  • Ranked 8th in the UK for Medical and Life Sciences research quality (REF 2014)
  • Ranked 3rd in the UK for English, and in the top 12 for Geography, Architecture and Planning, and Cultural and Media Studies research quality
  • Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) top 20 strategic partner
• 93.7% of our students are in a job or further training within six months of graduating
• We have a world-class reputation for research excellence and are spearheading three major societal challenges that have a significant impact on global society. These themes are: Ageing, Sustainability, and Social Renewal
• Newcastle University is the first UK university to establish a fully owned international branch campus for medicine at its NUMed Campus in Malaysiawhich opened in 2011
• Our international students put Newcastle University in the world’s top 50 (ISB 2013) of global universities.
• Newcastle University Business School is one of 20 Triple Accredited Business Schools in the UK