Goldsmiths named London's greenest university

Goldsmiths, University of London has been named as the greenest university in the capital, according to a prestigious international study.

We have also been ranked the ninth most eco-friendly university in Britain and the 70th greenest in the world by the University of Indonesia’s Green Metric Tables for 2015.

The rankings released this week saw us rise 71 places from 2014’s position of 141.

The league tables are drawn from 407 universities across the world. Rankings are assessed according to criteria like population of staff and students, percentage of green spaces in comparison to buildings as well as total energy use.

Our success follows hard work by the Greening Goldsmiths team to dramatically increase our green standing. The team’s main goal is to slash energy consumption on campus, improve recycling rates and reduce overall volumes of waste created.

Richard Groves, associate director of Energy and Engineering at Goldsmiths, said: “I’m really pleased and proud that we are the greenest in London, and are ranked so highly in the UK and world.

“This goes to show that hard work and perseverance pays off – we’re well on our way to getting to our targets.”

Other successes this year include three nominations for the Green Gown Awards 2015 and reaccreditation of our Fairtrade status.

The Greening Goldsmiths team is on target to achieve its goals thanks to a range of measures. These include calling on students and staff to become Energy Detectives to record where they see energy being wasted across campus.

We also have a student and staff allotment on campus – with the new season of growing approaching quickly.

This spring will also see the Estates team sowing wildflower meadows across campus – providing a safe haven for the area’s bees and bringing a splash of country colour to New Cross.