University of Salford ranked ninth for sustainability in the UK

The independent ranking, published by The Guardian, placed the University ninth out of 153 UK institutions – an increase from 12th in the last league table in 2021 and 64th place in 2019. 

Compiled by the UK's largest student campaigning network, People & Planet's University League is the only comprehensive and independent league table of UK universities, ranking UK institutions by their environmental and ethical performance. The assessment system considers various criteria, including carbon management, engagement, waste and education.  

This year, the University of Salford scored especially highly in Policy and Strategy (100%), Environmental Management Systems (100%), Education (99%) and Carbon Management (90%). The overall score of 70.6% placed them in the 1st class category.

Professor Will Swan, Director of Sustainability at the University, said: "This shows the great work Salford has done over the last year to drive sustainability through the campus. The University is now putting sustainability at the centre of its corporate strategy, so with this commitment, we should expect to see even further improvement in our performance, not just on our campus but across all aspects of university life. Well done to all involved in delivering a great result for Salford once again."

As part of the efforts to improve sustainability, Salford published the Environmental Sustainability Plan, Striving for a Sustainable Salford, which the University Council officially approved in 2021. The plan sets out our commitments, targets and actions to manage our environmental impacts. The University also runs impactful research into climate mitigation and adaptation, including projects such as the Energy House and IGNITION Living Lab.

You can view the Environmental Sustainability Policy Statement online on the University's Sustainable Strategy webpage.

How was the score decided?

Since 2007, People & Planet has been scoring universities using a set of criteria that investigates their environmental and ethical commitments and actions. Each criteria section adds up to 100%. You can find more information about the scoring system in the Methodology section of the People & Planet website. 

Half the criteria are scored using data collected and made public by the Higher Education Statistics Agency or other publicly verified data sources. The rest is scored based on information available on the university website. Universities that do not make their environmental information public online are not likely to score very highly – if People & Planet can't find the information, the institution will score zero.

Please visit their website for more information about the 2022 People & Planet University League.