Environment and Sustainability

Birmingham City University is committed to sustainability and improving our environmental performance while encouraging and embedding a sustainable way of life for students and staff. As an educational establishment, we have a responsibility not only to educate our students and staff on more sustainable practices, but also to lead by example by improving our own performance.

People and Planet First Place Award, University League 2022/23

The University has developed an Environmental Plan 2020-25 to put the environment and sustainability at the heart of what we do. Our vision is to make environmental sustainability an integral part of the University, making positive change at BCU, in Birmingham and beyond.

BCU understands the need to support sustainability across its activities, and made a 'Declaration of Climate Emergency' on 20 September 2019.

BCU has achieved a first-class ranking in the People & Planet University League, which ranks UK universities by environmental performance. The University has jumped up from 31st place (ranked 2:1) to 26th (First Class) in the 2022/23 league, which also sees BCU as the top-scoring university in Birmingham, and third within the West Midlands.

BCUSU has achieved ‘good’ in the Green Impact award, which is a toolkit that enables Students’ Union staff, officers and students to collaboratively embed sustainability and social justice across our campus, curriculum and wider society.

Find out more about how we are implementing our Environmental Plan and reducing our environmental impacts across the University.