The majority of universities in England are set to miss climate change goals in 2020 – but say expansion is to blame

More than three-quarters of England’s universities are set to miss carbon reduction targets for 2020, according to the latest analysis.

Despite the introduction of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and invest in sustainable energy, higher education institutions claim that an era of expansion has hampered plans to make the sector more environmentally friendly.

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Sustainability consultancy Brite Green analysed the emissions of 127 universities in England and found that the majority (76%) are due to miss the target of 43% reduction across the sector by 2020, as set by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) in 2010. Brite Green’s analysis shows that the overall reduction is likely to be closer to just 12% by that date.

Some 35 universities were found to have increased their carbon emissions since 2005, including King’s College London, the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London. The largest increase, of 66%, was found at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Meanwhile, London Metropolitan University was found to have made the most progress in reducing its carbon output, by 54%, followed by the University of Cumbria (48%) and Soas, University of London (47%).

Researchers used public data from Hefce and the Higher Education Statistics Agency, and held consultations with universities, offering them the opportunity to provide more information on emissions if they wished.

Yvonne Hawkins, Hefce’s director of universities and colleges, defended the sector, claiming that the targets did not take account of “significant recent growth in university estates and student numbers”.

She said that Hefce was working with universities to “review progress and identify barriers and opportunities” and added that the organisation had provided £90 million in grants for carbon reduction projects since 2008.

But student-led campaign group People and Planet, which also produces an annual university league on ethical and environmental performance, took a more critical stance.

Andrew Taylor, the organisation’s climate change campaigns and communications manager, said: “We are dismayed to see further evidence that, after years of student campaigning, some universities continue to de-prioritise sustainability.”

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He added that government funding relating to carbon reduction had been “gutted” and noted that Hefce’s annual grant letter to universities no longer made any reference to sustainability.

Darren Chadwick, Brite Green’s managing partner, said the problem was exacerbated by a “disconnect” between universities’ carbon management plans and commercial strategies.

He explained: “Despite the significant efforts of energy and estates managers, strong growth in the sector has meant that many universities have fallen well behind their targets. It’s clear that carbon strategies need to be updated.”



However, he highlighted the progress that many universities had made. Although the majority were not on course to meet emissions targets, most had implemented programmes that had improved energy efficiency, he said.

What do the universities say?

‘Energy-intensive scientific research makes it hard to meet targets’

A spokesperson for King’s College London says:

We are committed to stretching carbon reduction targets. We have established a £1m revolving green fund where project savings are reinvested in carbon-reduction initiatives. For example, King’s is currently undertaking a fridge replacement project in halls of residence that will save 402 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. But planned growth in student recruitment and the increasingly energy-intensive equipment that is required to undertake science, technology, engineering and mathematical research mean that there are compound challenges in achieving these targets.

‘Sustainability is part of what we teach’

Pearl Costello, environment officer at the Royal Agricultural University says:

It is really important for us, as an agricultural university, to be an example to our students. We have the challenges of historic buildings, a limited gas supply and a significant growth, but a few successful projects have created the drive to do more. We felt that the key to ensuring that carbon reduction remained a strategic priority was to recognise its link with our curriculum. Sustainability is no longer a separate function or budget, but is proactively included in all campus thinking and developments. However, the Hefce carbon reduction targets for universities are very tough, and many universities had not considered the impact of growth when they originally developed their carbon management plans.

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‘There’s an anomaly in the data somewhere’

A spokesperson for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says:

The figures held by our sustainability manager show an increase of 15.6% rather than 66% as suggested in the report. As for the discrepancy, there’s an anomaly in the data somewhere which we’re looking into but we don’t know yet. Our figures show the school’s emissions increased from 3,562 tonnes in 2005-06 to 4,118 tonnes in 2013-14 - this represents an increase of 15.6%. Since 2014, the school has developed a new carbon management plan to reduce our emissions.

‘We have to design energy-efficient spaces within mid-20th-century buildings’

Jason Clarke, head of sustainability at City University London, says:

We’ve been fortunate in that we have been able to align our estates strategy with our carbon management strategy. In 2012 we invested heavily in developing a central combined cooling heat and power plant, which is the foundation of our carbon management strategy. In subsequent years, the university has been able to stop using a number of its poorer performing, remote buildings. Most of the difficulties we have here are around retaining comfortable conditions for students across the seasons. Space is at a premium in central London, so the task for us is to design high-performing spaces using existing mid-20th-century buildings, rather than building new ones. Airtightness and insulation levels aren’t always what one would hope for so addressing these problems forms a major part of the design process.

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