Celebrating the Most Sustainable Universities in the UK This Year
PEOPLE & PLANET HAVE JUST PUBLISHED THEIR 2024/2025 LEAGUE TABLE, RANKING THE MOST SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSITIES IN THE UK THIS YEAR! IN THIS ARTICLE, WE SHARE THE TOP 10-RANKED UNIVERSITIES AND EXPLAIN HOW THE FOOD MADE GOOD STANDARD SUPPORTS PEOPLE & PLANET IN COMPILING THESE DATA EACH YEAR.
What is People & Planet?
People & Planet is a student network running coordinated campaigns against oppression and injustice. Compiled annually by this network, the People & Planet University League Table is the only comprehensive and independent league table of UK universities ranked by environmental and ethical performance.
Created by students, for students, the table ranks UK universities against 14 criteria linked to climate and social justice. These include environmental policy, auditing and human resources, and their performance in areas such as sustainable food, carbon reduction, waste management and recycling, student engagement, education for sustainable development, water use, energy sources and workers’ rights.
How the Food Made GooD Standard contributes to the People & Planet League Table
As mentioned, sustainable food is one of the 14 criteria used for the creation of the League Table. People & Planet believes universities have a responsibility to address the sustainability and carbon intensity of their food supply chains; universities are also key to shaping behavioural change in consumer food choices.
In evaluating sustainable food offerings at universities, People & Planet checks whether they have implemented a comprehensive framework for continual improvement in sustainable food and catering — one that is regularly audited and verified by a credible external organisation. The Food Made Good Standard is one of the certifications that the League Table looks for, with universities earning up to 40% in this section if they hold three stars in the Standard.
This year’s People & Planet League Table
To construct the 2024/2025 League Table, People & Planet looked at 149 universities across the UK. The results have been announced today, and the University of Bedfordshire has come out as this year’s overall winner, following a consistently high performance that has put them in the top three for the last three years.
The University of Bedfordshire has taken bold steps to divest endowment funds from the fossil fuel industry and to end recruitment pipelines with oil, gas and mining companies. They also scored highly for their energy sources and carbon reduction after investing in renewable energy generated on campus over the last 10 years, as well as recent investments in retrofitting and decarbonising their campus.
HERE'S THE TOP 10:
- University of Bedfordshire
- De Montfort University
- University of West London
- University of Reading
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- University of Worcester
- University of the Arts London
- University of Salford
- University of Exeter
- Northumbria University
Six of the top 10 universities listed in this year’s People & Planet League Table are Food Made Good certified: De Montfort University (#2), University of West London (#3), University of Reading (#4), Manchester Metropolitan University (#5), University of Worcester (#6) and University of Exeter (#9).
We know from their Food Made Good evaluations that these universities have some fantastic sustainability initiatives in place. For example, Manchester Metropolitan University has a policy of hiring students (over 300 in the last two years) and supporting the Bridging the Gap scheme, which provides work experience to students with learning difficulties. They commission an external partner to monitor water consumption and identify reduction opportunities. As part of their Sustainable Food Policy 2022, they've reduced the amount of meat and dairy served across campus — plus, we love that their procurement system allows chefs to calculate the carbon footprint of each dish and engineer menus accordingly.
Meanwhile, the London Geller School of Hospitality at the University of West London takes great pride in training the next generation of hospitality professionals. The faculty actively builds the principles of sustainability into this education, ensuring that students are not only equipped with essential knowledge around sustainability but also with the practical skills they will need to implement sustainable practices in their future careers.
Food Made Good at universities
The Food Made Good Standard is the world’s biggest sustainability certification designed especially for foodservice businesses of all sizes and shapes, and takes a holistic approach to what sustainability should mean, across three pillars: Sourcing, Society and Environment. Achieving the Standard means a F&B business is not only reducing carbon emissions, water use and waste, but also treating its staff fairly, supporting its community and driving positive change throughout its supply chains by making considered, responsible procurement choices.
This is critical work for any F&B business. Foodservice has an enormous impact on our environment — responsible for huge volumes of food waste, water use and carbon emissions, and with the power to influence how food is both produced and consumed. Employing millions, both directly and through the supply chain, the actions of the industry have significant social implications, too.
Universities feed a plethora of people every day, from students to faculty and other staff members; this means that they have a particularly big responsibility to ensure that their impact is positive on both people and planet. We currently have 22 universities across the UK certified by the Food Made Good Standard, and we look forward to welcoming more on board in 2025.
You can learn more about the People & Planet University League Table at www.peopleandplanet.org/university-league.
If you’re a university (or any other type of business that serves food) and you’re interested in assessing, measuring and celebrating your sustainability work, get in touch! Our Head of growth, Will Browning, would be delighted to chat to you – drop him a line at will@thesra.org.
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