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People & Planet acknowledge our 'sustainable' degrees
MANCHESTER Metropolitan University has been named third greenest university in the UK.
‘People and Planet’ rated 151 UK universities according to their sustainable credentials and placed MMU in the top 10 for the third consecutive time.
MMU’s record*:
Vice-Chancellor Professor John Brooks said: “We have had an amazing 18 months at number 1 but have not rested on our laurels, putting a stronger focus on the student experience. Clearly the competition has heated up, so we are genuinely delighted to be in the Top 3 for 2015.
“At MMU, we firmly believe that a strong ethos of sustainability not only strengthens the University’s appeal to students but improves the experience in so many different ways.
Students as partners
“In partnership with our students, we are working to create a sustainable university which goes beyond being carbon neutral and actually has a positive environmental impact.”
Sarah-Beth Cooper, Community Officer at The Union said: "This is great news. Making the top ten for the third year in a row is an excellent achievement and recognises MMU’s commitment to the environment. Sustainability is important to students and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the University on this."
The annual survey looks at systems, performance and behaviours, and saw the University achieve maximum marks for its policies, its staff and efforts to spread sustainable thinking. High marks were also scored in ethical investments, carbon management and engagement to create greener behaviours.
Since 2005, the university has reduced carbon emissions by a quarter thanks to buildings being strictly monitored for energy use and all new buildings designed for sustainability, including the new Birley Fields campus which is zero-rated in waste, water and heating.
Sustainable degrees
John Hindley, Head of Environmental Strategy at MMU, says the People & Planet is getting tougher each time: “In the face of more challenging criteria, we are thrilled to maintain a podium position.
“Our latest drive is to create degree courses which are strong on sustainability issues and we are pleased to have been recognised as a model for other universities in so-called ‘education for sustainable development’.
“Our own research shows that 60% of our students think that ‘gaining skills and knowledge to understand key global sustainability issues’ are enhancing their employability prospects.”
More successes
Other green achievements included:
Hannah Smith, People & Planet League Manager, said: “Manchester Metropolitan University are continuing to prove themselves as one of the UK's most progressive universities for environmental and ethical standards.
“By resourcing their staff and engaging their students, MMU are stepping up to a unique opportunity for universities to provide the skills and understanding our communities need to tackle the biggest challenges of our time. People & Planet celebrate MMU's inspiring determination and achievement in sustainable development.”
Find out how we fared against other Universities here at the People and Planet University League web page and find out more about our activities at http://www.mmu.ac.uk/environment/ and on Twitter @MMUEnvironment
NB: An error was made when calculating MMU's score in carbon management, so the official tables reproduced in The Guardian show MMU at 4th. People & Planet have since confirmed their MMU and that MMU is actually 3rd with 73.1%.
*The compete rankings history for MMU is:
2014- 3
2013- 1
2012- 10
2011- 17
2010- 27
2009- 57
2008-67
2007- 91
Tuesday, 20th January 2015