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York ranked ninth in UK in sustainability rankings

Posted on 5 December 2023

The University of York has been ranked the ninth most sustainable university in the UK and 29th in the world, according to the QS Sustainability Rankings 2024.

The University has held Green flag campus status since 2013

The rankings assess the ability of 1400 universities around the world to “tackle the world’s greatest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.”

Methodology

Universities were measured on their Environmental Impact, Social Impact as well as a newly added Governance category, in which York came joint first globally, 

In the overall ranking, York moved up seven places, coming in at 29th place in the world. 

Sustainability initiatives  

York’s sustainability initiatives include: 

• Green flag campus status held since 2013 - we meet the national standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the UK. 
• 100% divestment from fossil fuel companies - we no longer have investments in the fossil fuel industry
• 26,000kWh per year of solar energy generated by 80 solar panels installed across our University campus
• The YORCUP Scheme which has saved over one million single-use plastic cups from being thrown away
• Research on environmental sustainability and resilience – by collaborating widely and working across disciplines, researchers at York are helping to shape a more sustainable future for us all. 

University community

Mark Clough, Sustainability Manager at the University of York, said: "It is fantastic to be recognised for the progress we have made on embedding sustainability throughout our University community. The high ranking achieved for our positive governance measures shows we have a strong foundation for our varied sustainability works. 

“We are committed to making a real impact on addressing some of the world's biggest challenges and this ranking is a positive reflection on the progress and quality of the sustainability actions undertaken across the University." 

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