Plastic use has become one of the biggest issues of this generation, with bottles, bags, food packaging and straws littering our beaches and clogging up our oceans.
While we have a long way to go to rectify this, there are many things you can do to help preserve the planet. And one of those is holding your university to account and understanding what it’s doing to consume materials responsibly.
The Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Ratings is a good place to start if you are looking to see which universities are dedicated to reducing plastic waste, minimising the use of disposable items and working to recycle more, and which have policies in place for sourcing ethical goods.
To put together this ranking, we mapped how universities around the world are committing to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a global call to action to tackle poverty, climate change and inequality.
The SDGs look to tackle some of today’s biggest global issues, and SDG 12 covers responsible consumption and production. More on the methodology for this ranking can be found here.
1. University of Manchester
The University of Manchester has a range of sustainability measures on campus to reduce waste. The Want Not Waste Not shop on campus sells a selection of zero waste products including spices, pulses, cleaning products and beauty products.
The university is also working to reduce plastic at all its events, by replacing balloons with paper bunting, using potato-based tokens instead of plastic ones and eliminating plastic water bottles and printed flyers.
There is also a range of research being conducted at the university into the impact of microplastics in UK rivers and new ways of reducing plastic use.
The university is also committed to using local suppliers and provides courses for students to learn more about responsible consumption.
2. University of Exeter
The University of Exeter takes part in the Moving On initiative which collects unwanted goods from term-time addresses for students. The goods, including clothes, stationery, furniture and books, are then either sold on or recycled, with the proceeds donated to charity. The university previously donated £70,000 to charity through the initiative.
Events for students are organised across campus to encourage students to swap and reuse their items. One such event is a clothing swap where students can bring unwanted clothes and swap them with other students’ items.
=3. Korea University
Korea University drops down two places this year to take joint third position.
There are a range of measures on campus to encourage students to recycle. Zero Waste Stations were installed to encourage students to recycle and separate waste.
There is a specialised mall on campus where students can purchase eco-friendly products.
=3. Northumbria University
Northumbria University has moved up two places this year to joint third.
There are many initiatives on campus that help to reduce waste and recycle and reuse items. It was the first university in the UK to use the Too Good To Go app which allows users to purchase meals that would have otherwise gone to waste.
The university has a Sustainable Food Policy which includes sourcing local and seasonal produce and the use of ethically marked produce.
5. University of Greenwich
The University of Greenwich climbs 55 places to enter the top five this year.
The university focuses its sustainability efforts in six key areas – energy and carbon, buildings and estate, waste and procurement, travel and transport, food and catering and the natural environment.
A clothing swap initiative was launched in 2023 for students to swap and exchange clothes to avoid them going to waste. There is also a furniture reuse scheme, an end of term reuse campaign and a bargain corner where students can pick up items at a discounted cost.
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