Bournemouth University in top five of greenest UK universities

BU named the fifth greenest university in the UK in a national survey of 138 institutions.

The People & Planet Green League 2011 unveiled yesterday reveals that BU is the fifth greenest university in the UK out of 138 institutions surveyed.

The results, published in Education Guardian, show that BU has earned a ‘First Class’ degree-style rating for its green credentials. BU has also shown a considerable performance improvement with a score of 47/70 - a substantial increase on last year’s position of 20th with a 38.5 score overall.

The League Table shows that BU’s green credentials have been boosted by strong scores in key areas such as Environmental Policy, Environmental Auditing and Management Systems, and Staff and Student Engagement as well as full marks in the new curriculum section focusing on Education for Sustainable Development.

BU was also recognised for performance improvements in specific impact areas; including scoring full marks for its Low Carbon Emissions per Head and getting credit for improvements in Waste Management and Recycling.

David Willey, BU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chair of the Environmental Strategy Group, said: “We are delighted that our strong environmental performance and practice at BU has been recognised by People & Planet in their Universities Green League”.

“This rise to fifth place out of 138 universities puts us amongst the very greenest of universities and is an acknowledgement of the importance we place on sustainability at BU”.

The results were also welcomed by Amanda Williams, BU’s Environment and Energy Manager: “We are extremely pleased to see the great strides that we have made in environmental management here at BU reflected in both the Green League and our recent EcoCampus Gold Award. This success is thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of many people across the University.”

BU is a Fairtrade University and also gained strong scores for its Fairtrade and ethical procurement procedures.

Veronica Pasteur, Head of Campaigns at the Fairtrade Foundation said: “Congratulations to BU for becoming one of the UK’s greenest universities, and to all its staff and students who have shown a collective commitment to Fairtrade and for recognising their global responsibility. The awareness that this is raising among the student population will help make a better future for producers in the developing world”.

The results come a month after BU was recognised as one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly universities by being awarded a prestigious Gold Award for its environmental management systems by the national EcoCampus Scheme for Higher Education.