Times Higher Education ranks De Montfort University Leicester among top universities for sustainability

Times Higher Education (THE), a British publication that provides news related to higher education, has ranked De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) in the top 30 universities globally for sustainability, and the university ranked in the top 15 in the UK.

DMU was awarded this ranking based on its measures to make the university sustainable; these include providing carbon literacy training to staff and students, implanting sustainability into all learning and teaching, and having a recycling rate of over 90 percent, among other actions.

However, the main focus for THE’s rankings this year was based on which universities are making efforts to achieve the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Karl Letten, sustainability manager at DMU, said in a statement: “DMU is committed to addressing sustainability and carbon reduction across all its operations and activities.

“Our students are the business leaders of tomorrow, and we intend to ensure that they are given the right skills and knowledge to make sustainable choices throughout their careers to create a more sustainable society.

“To be recognised in this way by the impact rankings is testament to the hard work by our students and staff in embracing sustainability and adopting more sustainable behaviours such as recycling, greener travel and reducing carbon emissions.”

THE ranks universities on the following criteria: publication of sustainability reports, the proportion of recycled waste and operational measures, including policies on disposal of hazardous waste; ethical sourcing of food; measurements of waste sent to landfill; use of plastic, and research.

There are 1,406 universities from 106 countries ranked by THE; indicators including outreach, research, stewardship and teaching are used to offer thorough and balanced comparisons.