The University of California, Berkeley, has been crowned top in a league table of the world’s most environmentally friendly higher education institutions.
The “UI Green Metric Ranking of World Universities” is based on several factors, including green space, electricity consumption, waste and water management and eco-sustainability policies.
Based on research and surveys conducted by the Green Metric team at the University of Indonesia on thousands of other universities around the world, University of California, Berkeley, United States scored best with a points total of 8,213 and is the greenest campus in terms of its environment policy.
The University of Nottingham, UK, was a close second with a total score of 8,201, followed by Northeastern University, United States, with a score of 7,909, in third place.
The seven month study, which was completed in November 2010, was based on three criteria - Environment, Economic and Equity (3’Es). The ranking was determined using five indicators: Green Statistics (24%), Energy and Climate Change (28%), waste management (15%), water usage (15%) and transportation facility (24%).
Researchers created a basic profile of the size of each university and its zoning profile and whether urban, suburban or rural. The amount of green space was also a point-scoring factor.
The vice-chancellor of second-placed The University of Nottingham Professor David Greenaway said: “I am delighted by this news. Here at Nottingham we have worked hard in recent years at putting sustainability at the heart of this University’s ethos.
“Every student, every member of staff has played their part in achieving this success, by making their own contribution, however small, towards environmental excellence and realising our commitment to becoming a leading green university. This accomplishment will spur us on to further improving our performance in sustainability.”
The University of Nottingham launched an environmental strategy in 2010, managed by an Environmental Steering Group, which outlines its aims in achieving excellence in sustainability and has been underpinned by the introduction of a range of initiatives supporting its green agenda.
These include the maintenance of its award-winning parkland campuses incorporating green gardening practices, the use of innovative architecture and sustainable design in building new facilities, reducing the environmental impact of its IT use and introducing sustainable procurement practices into contracts with a growing number of major suppliers.
In addition, the University has a strong research portfolio in environmental sustainability, epitomised by initiatives such as the Creative Energy Homes project, a showcase of six innovative state-of-the-art eco-homes built on University Park Campus, and the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies at its Ningbo campus in China, which serves as a model building representing cutting-edge techniques for environmentally-responsible, sustainable construction.
Staff and students have been encouraged to make their own pledge to becoming more eco-friendly through a University-wide Go Greener campaign, whether it be by reducing their carbon footprint by switching off PCs or lights when not in use or leaving their car at home and using public transport and the University’s own fleet of inter-campus ‘hopper’ buses with new lower-emissions diesel engines.
As part of its measures to reduce its carbon footprint, the University recently unveiled plans for three wind turbines on land close to the River Trent, near Clifton Bridge in Nottingham, which, if approved, would supply green electricity directly to its University Park campus. The turbines, which would meet one-third of the electricity needs of the campus, would reduce the University’s carbon emissions by 7,000 tonnes per year, equating to 40 per cent of the target reductions required by 2015.
Professor Alan Dodson, pro-vice-chancellor for Infrastructure and Environment at Nottingham, said: “This is a fantastic achievement which recognises our holistic approach to sustainability. Staff and students in the University have worked closely together to improve the sustainability of our operation, and help reduce our carbon footprint.
“This international recognition will I hope be a stimulus for further improvement in the coming years. Our plans to provide substantial electricity generation through our own wind turbines will, if agreed, provide another significant step forward.”
The “UI Green Metric Ranking of World Universities” Top Ten
1) University of California, Berkeley, USA
2) University of Nottingham, UK
3) York University, Canada
4) Northeastern University, USA
5) Cornell University, USA
6) Universiti Putra, Malaysia
7) Washington University in St. Louis, USA
8) Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
9) University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
10) University of North Carolina, USA
Milan Moravec, California around 1 year, 4 months ago