University College Cork (UCC) has been ranked the most ‘sustainable university’ in Ireland in the Green Metric Rankings of World Universities 2015.
The Irish college recently ranked fourth in a list of the most sustainable universities worldwide. The study was carried out by Universities Indonesia (UI) who produced the list based on efforts made by universities to develop an ‘environmentally friendly’ infrastructure on campus.
The list, comprised of 407 entries, includes other Irish third-level institutions, with DCU ranking 58th, UCD ranking 111th and NUI Maynooth ranking 93rd.
Third-level institutes were given a ranking by UI based on five indicators: setting and infrastructure; energy and climate change; waste management; water management; eco-friendly transportation facility and education.
This year, a new factor was considered when ranking the universities. The ‘Carbon Footprint’ evaluation calls on college communities to look into this issue and to encourage staff and students to be more aware of energy usage, waste reduction and disposal and new forms of energy, such as solar and wind power.
According to Mark Poland, director of buildings and estates in UCC, members of the university endeavor to reduce the carbon footprint and the impact they have on the environment on a daily basis via sustainable commuting schemes, waste management and reduced energy use.
Mr. Poland said, “Our Green Campus Forum continues to work on all aspects of sustainability under our ‘Student-led, Research-informed and Practice-focused’ principles.”
He added that the university is working hard to achieve the set target of a 33pc reduction in energy usage on the campus by 2020.
Áine Monk
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