How climate-friendly is your university or college? UK university and colleges need to commit to and deliver ambitious carbon reduction targets to tackle the climate emergency. Find out how yours is doing:
Pick your university/college Pick your university/college AECC University College Aberystwyth University Abingdon and Witney College Academy of Contemporary Music Accrington & Rossendale College Alton College Anglia Ruskin University Aquinas Argyll College Ark Globe Academy Arts Educational London Schools Arts University Bournemouth Ashton VI Form College Aston University Aurora Boveridge College Ayrshire College Bangor University Barking & Dagenham College Barnet and Southgate College Barnsley College Basingstoke College of Technology Bath College Bath Spa University Bedford College Group Belfast Metropolitan College Bexhill College Bilborough VI Form College Bird College Birkbeck College Birkenhead VI Form College Birmingham City University Birmingham Metropolitan College Bishop Auckland College Bishop Burton College Bishop Grosseteste University Blackburn College Blackpool Sixth Form College Blackpool and The Fylde College Bolton College Borders College Boston College Bournemouth University Bournemouth and Poole College of FE Bradford College Bridge College Bridgend College Bridgwater and Taunton College Centre Brighton Hove & Sussex VI Form College Brighton and Hove Recovery College Brine Leas Sixth Form College Bristol Old Vic Theatre School British College of Osteopathic Medicine Brockenhurst College Brooklands College Brooksby Melton College Brunel University Buckinghamshire College Group Buckinghamshire New University Burnley College Bury College Cadbury VI Form College Calderdale College of F E Cambridge Regional College Cambridge Tutors College Canterbury Christ Church University Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff University Cardiff and Vale College Cardinal Newman Catholic Sixth Form Cardinal Newman College Carlisle College Carmel College Central Bedfordshire College Central School Of Ballet And National Centre For Circus Arts Cheshire College South and West Chesterfield College Chichester College Group Christ the King Sixth Form College: Lewisham and St Mary's Cirencester College City College Norwich City College Plymouth City and Islington College City of Bristol College City of Glasgow College City of Sunderland College City of Westminster College City of Wolverhampton College City, University of London Colchester Institute FE Colchester Institute HE Coleg Cambria Coleg Ceredigion Coleg Gwent Coleg Sir Gâr Coleg Y Cymoedd College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London College of North West London Conservatoire for Dance and Drama Cornwall College Courtauld Institute of Art Coventry College Coventry University Cranfield University Craven College DLD College Darlington College David Lewis College De Montfort University Derby College Derwen College Derwentside College Doncaster College Drama Studio London Dudley College of Technology Dumfries and Galloway College Dundee and Angus College ERADE Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College East Coast College East Durham College East Kent Colleges Group East Norfolk Sixth Form College East Riding College East Surrey College Eastleigh College Edge Hill University Edinburgh College Edinburgh Napier University European School of Economics Exeter College Falmouth University Farnborough College of Technology Farnborough Sixth Form College Fife College . Fircroft College Forth Valley College Freeman College Furness College Gateshead College Gateway College Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Clyde College Glasgow Kelvin College Glasgow School of Art Gloucestershire College Glyndwr University Godalming College Goldsmiths, University of London Gower College Swansea Grantham College Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, GBMet. Greenbank College Grimsby Institute of FE & HE Grwp Llandrillo-Menai Grwp NPTC Group Guildhall School of Music & Drama Hadlow College Halesowen College Harlow College Harper Adams University Harrogate College Harrow College Hartpury Havant and South Downs Havant and South Downs Havering College of FE & HE Havering Sixth Form College Heart of Worcestershire College Hedleys College Henley College Henley College Henshaws Hereford College of Arts Hereford Sixth Form College Hereford, Ludlow and North Shropshire College Hereward College Heriot-Watt University High Storrs 6th Form Highbury College Highland Theological College UHI Hills Road Sixth Form College Homefield College Hopwood Hall College Huddersfield New College Hull College Imperial College London Institute of Cancer Research International College of Oriental Medicine Inverness College UHI John Leggott College Joseph Chamberlain VI Form College Keele University Keighley College Kendal College Kidderminster College of FE King Edward VI College (Nuneaton) King's College London Kingston College Kingston Maurward College Kingston University Kirklees College LSEC Lakes College West Cumbria Lambeth College Lancaster & Morecambe College Lancaster University Leeds Arts University Leeds Beckett University Leeds City College Leeds College of Building Leeds College of Music Leeds Trinity University Leicester College Leo Baeck College Lewisham College Lews Castle UHI Leyton VI Form College Lincoln College Linkage College Liverpool Hope University Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine London Academy Of Music & Dramatic Art London Art School London Business School London Contemporary Dance School London Film School London Metropolitan University London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London School of Theology London South Bank University London Studio Centre Long Road Sixth Form College Longley Park Sixth Form College Loreto College Loughborough University Luther King House Macclesfield College Manchester Metropolitan University Marple Sixth Form College Meadowhead School Sixth Form Merthyr Tydfil MidKent College Middlesbrough College Middlesex University Midlands Academy Of Dance & Drama Milton Keynes College Moray College UHI Moulton College Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Myerscough College Nash Further Education Centre National Construction College National Film & TV School National Star College Nazarene Theological College Nescot College New City College New Collaborative Learning Trust New College (Durham) New College Lanarkshire New College Stamford New College Swindon NewVIc Newcastle College Newcastle University Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group Newman College Newman University North East Scotland College North Hertfordshire College North Highland College UHI North Kent College North Lindsey College Student Association North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College North West Regional College Northampton College Northern College Northern Regional College Northern School of Contemporary Dance Northumberland College Northumbria University Newcastle Norwich University of the Arts Notre Dame VI Form College Nottingham College Nottingham Trent University Oaklands College Oakwood Student Voice Oldham College Oldham VI Form College Open College of the Arts Open University Orkney College UHI Oxford Brookes University Pearson College Pembrokeshire College Perth College UHI Peter Symonds College Peterborough Regional College Petroc Plumpton College Plymouth College of Art Plymouth Marjon University Portsmouth College Post 16 Macmillan Academy Preston College of F E Priestley VI Form College Prior Pursglove & Stockton Sixth Form College Queen Alexandra College, Harborne Queen Margaret University Edinburgh Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary's College Queen's University Belfast RNN Ravensbourne Redcar & Cleveland College Regent's University London Reigate College Richard Huish College Richmond Upon Thames College Riverside College Halton Robert Gordon University Rochdale Sixth Form College Roehampton University Rose Bruford College Roundhay Sixth Form Royal Academy of Dance Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Royal Academy of Music Royal Agricultural University Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Royal College of Art Royal College of Music Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Royal Holloway, University of London Royal National College For The Blind Royal Northern College of Music Royal Veterinary College Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Runshaw College SAMS UHI SAUWS 2018 SK College Group SMO UHI SRUC Sabhal mor Ostaig Comann Nan Oileanach Salford City College Sandwell College Scarborough VI Form College School of Oriental and African Studies Seashell Trust Royal College Manchester Selby College Sheffield College Sheffield Hallam University Shetland College UHI Shipley College Sir George Monoux VI Form Solent University Solihull College and University Centre South Devon College South Eastern Regional College South Essex College South Gloucestershire and Stroud College South Lanarkshire College South Thames College South West College South, City College and Bournville College Southampton City College Southern Regional College Southport College Spurgeons College St Brendan's Sixth Form College St George's, University of London St John Rigby College St Mary's University College Belfast St Mary's University, Twickenham St Vincent College Staffordshire University Stanmore College Stephenson College Stockton Riverside College Stoke on Trent College Strode College Suffolk New College Sussex Coast College Hastings Sussex Downs College Sussex Recovery College Swansea University Swindon College Tameside College Teesside University The Cheadle College The City Academy, Hackney The City Of Liverpool College The College of Richard Collyer The College of West Anglia The Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy The Isle of Wight College The Manchester College The Northern School of Art The Oxford School of Drama The Shrewsbury Colleges Group The Trafford College Group (TCG) The University of Law Thomas Rotherham College Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Trinity Theological College Tropics Global College Tyne Coast College USP College Ulster University University College Birmingham University College London University College of Osteopathy University for the Creative Arts University of Aberdeen University of Abertay Dundee University of Bath University of Bedfordshire University of Birmingham University of Bolton University of Bradford University of Brighton University of Bristol University of Buckingham University of Cambridge University of Central Lancashire University of Chester University of Chichester University of Cumbria University of Derby University of Dundee University of Durham University of East Anglia University of East London University of Edinburgh University of Essex University of Exeter University of Glasgow University of Gloucestershire University of Greenwich University of Hertfordshire University of Huddersfield University of Hull University of Kent University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Lincoln University of Liverpool University of London University of Manchester University of Northampton University of Nottingham University of Oxford University of Plymouth University of Portsmouth University of Reading University of Salford University of Sheffield University of South Wales University of Southampton University of St Andrews University of Stirling University of Strathclyde University of Suffolk University of Sunderland University of Surrey University of Sussex University of Wales Trinity Saint David University of Warwick University of West London University of Westminster University of Winchester University of Wolverhampton University of Worcester University of York University of the Arts London University of the Highlands and Islands University of the West of England, Bristol University of the West of Scotland Uxbridge College Varndean Sixth Form College WQE and Regent College Group Wakefield College Wakefield Girls' High School Walsall College Waltham Forest College Warrington & Vale Royal College Warwickshire College West College Scotland West Herts and Barnfield College West Highland College UHI West Kent and Ashford College West Lancashire College West Lothian College West Nottinghamshire College West Thames College Weston College Weymouth College Wigan & Leigh College Wilberforce VI Form College William Morris College William Morris Sixth Form Wiltshire College Windsor Forest College's Group Winstanley College Wirral Metropolitan College Women's Technology and Education Centre Woodhouse College Wrexham Glyndwr Writtle University College Wyke College Xaverian Sixth Form College YMCA George Williams College Yeovil College York College York St John University Yorkshire Coast College dBs Music Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK), alongside the National Union of Students (NUS), the University and College Union (UCU) and People & Planet (P&P) are calling for ambitious carbon reduction targets to take action on the climate emergency and ecological crisis.
We know that in order to have any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees we need to commit to and start delivering these ambitious targets by the end of the academic year (2020/21).
We've collated UK university and college carbon reduction targets to view and compare across the sector. Targets are scored based on the ambition , and we will develop the resource at a future date to score based on progress and implementation. Check out our scoring methodology .
We have articulated a suitable goal for the sector to support institutions to develop targets. However, this is not a prescription, and we would expect individual targets to be developed in consultation with students and staff, and justifiable to their own university community. Where there are targets, we have linked institutions sustainability or general webpages to find out more information.
How is the sector doing?
Last updated October 2020
Students want action
At NUS conference last year, students passed a policy calling on UK universities and colleges to declare and act on the climate emergency. The policy mandated NUS and SOS-UK to "research and publish every university and college’s carbon reduction plans and compare them like for like [and] support student campaigners and officers and laggard institutions to call for their institutions to commit to being net-zero by 2030."
NUS Conference is the biggest democratic gathering of students in the world, and the elected delegates that attend represent the interest of 7 million students in tertiary education in the UK.
A suitably ambitious goal for the sector
To tackle the climate emergency and ecological crisis, we believe UK universities and colleges should publicly commit to being net zero emissions for scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2030.
Within 12 months of this commitment, institutions should have developed a fully-costed, comprehensive action plan showing the planned emission reduction curve.
Targets should be set by the end of the 2020/21 academic year and action plans published by the end of the 2021/22 academic year.
Scope 3
For this project, scope 3 includes water supply and waste water treatment, waste collection and management, business travel, staff commuting, student travel, procurement, endowment investments and agricultural landholdings.
Offsetting
Institutions should plan to restrict the use of offsetting to scope 3 emissions that are not currently viable to eliminate. Offsets should be procured through credible schemes, such as Gold standard-accredited schemes or locally-developed alternatives, and institutions should commit to a reasonable minimum offset price.
Offsetting should not be used as a way for institutions to shift the burden of their emissions whilst continuing business as usual in the UK. The social impact, as well as the credibility of carbon savings, of offsetting schemes should be comprehensively considered.
Biodiversity
Universities and colleges should develop robust plans to increase biodiversity net gain on campus. All institutions should conduct baseline and ongoing ecological surveys to monitor biodiversity net gain.
Are you working on carbon reduction at a UK university or college?
We are constantly updating our data from across the sector. If you are working on carbon reduction at a UK university or college and would like us to update or change your data, please fill out this quick survey.
Interested?
Register your interest in the carbon targets campaign by filling in this quick form, and we'll keep in touch with any events and updates.