Universities failing to meet green goals

Universities are failing to meet emissions reduction targets, according to the latest rankings from an environmental body.

The 2016 People & Planet University League revealed that only a quarter of campuses are on track to meet their carbon reduction targets by 2020.

Fingers have been pointed at the government for its lack of support for public sector sustainability, which stalls energy-saving schemes.

“Environmental sustainability has been removed from the government’s […] higher education funding, leaving the Higher Education Funding Council without the resources it had in the past to support sustainable practice,” claims Hannah Smith, co-director for campaigns and research for People & Planet.

34th out of 150

Against these odds, however, Warwick University seems to have had a particularly good year with regards to energy-saving. The University has moved from 129th place to 34th in the league.

This leap seems to be the result of several recent initiatives, as the report does not state a change in methodology.

The bike hire scheme UniCycles enables staff and students to access any of 50 bikes situated across campus for an annual fee or pay-as-you go subscription.

The University has also introduced a £5,000 fund to support student projects aiming to improve campus sustainability, as well as continuing its Student Switch Off energy competition which incentivises campus residents to consume less energy through an end-of-year reward.

Nonetheless, there seems to still be room for improvement. A recent petition to lower heating on campus, which is seen by many to be excessive, has amassed over 200 signatures.

Warwick has also announced that it will be launching an unique BASc cross-disciplinary degree in global sustainable development.

Nottingham Trent University topped the table, with its first carbon-negative building, while highly prestigious institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge came disappointingly low.

Improvement on last year

The news comes a year after Warwick was ranked 104th out of 121 universities in the UK for CO2 emissions by floor area.

In that 2015 report, by carbon emissions consultancy company Brite Green, Warwick was predicted to only reduce its emissions by 1% between 2005 and 2020.

The target set under the 2008 Climate Change act, however, was a 60% reduction.