University News Last updated 11 December
Birmingham City University (BCU) has been named as a leading university in the People & Planet University League 2025.
BCU has risen by an impressive 28 places from 40th to 12th place, increasing our overall percentage score of 57.7% to 71.1% in just 12 months.
The league table ranks universities based on environmental and ethical performance and is compiled annually by the UK’s largest student campaigning network, People & Planet.
Out of 147 higher education institutions included in the league table, BCU is in the top 10% overall and is the number one university for sustainability in Birmingham.
“This has been an incredible achievement for the BCU community,” said Professor Ian Blair, Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic and Sustainability.
“Thanks to measures including becoming an accredited Living Wage employer, and our new Travel Plan, we have been able to boost our rankings in this prestigious league table.
“The work doesn’t stop here. We’ll continue to strive to make BCU a fair and green place to work and study, for current and future generations.”
BCU saw the biggest improvements in the following areas:
- Managing Carbon
- Ethical Investment and Banking
- Workers’ Rights
- Education for Sustainable Development
- Energy Sources
- Carbon Reduction
"We are making amazing progress from 2024," said Deborah Phelpstead, Head of Sustainability at BCU. "This result is also recognition of the fantastic work the Sustainability Team and colleagues across the University are doing to make this happen.
"There is still plenty for us to achieve, but it is great to see how we're moving in the right direction."
Our Strategy 2030 is built on four core enablers, including People and Culture, Environmental Sustainability, Infrastructure, and Size and Shape. These are foundations for the BCU community to create a greener and more inclusive University.
BCU’s commitment to sustainability from staff and students has helped the University to make great strides in improving the environment, communities and lives around us, in order to meet the needs of an ever-changing society and rising to real-world challenges.