LJMU officially ranked as a first class university for sustainability
LJMU has been officially ranked as a first class university for sustainability.
The university has leapt up to 15th in the rankings in the 2025/26 People and Planet League, the only independent table of UK institutions ranked by ethical and environmental performance.
That is a jump of 28 places from last year and places LJMU as one of only 25 ‘first class’ universities in the rankings.
The league table is compiled by the UK’s largest student campaigning network, People and Planet, using publicly available information on universities’ websites and data around estate management.
The university also ranked 10th place for carbon reduction, highlighting the hard work of Estate Development in their continuous work to improve energy efficiency and progress actions from our award-winning Carbon Management Plan.
Triple celebration
Meanwhile, making it a triple celebration, LJMU has also earned full EcoCampus Platinum status and ISO50001 Energy Management certification
EcoCampus is a scheme for the higher and further education sector that enables institutions to implement an ISO 14001 aligned Environmental Management System. The university has created a joined up Environmental and Energy Management System, meaning it has additionally achieved ISO 50001, demonstrating its leadership within the sector.
The system covers Estate Development and Campus Services, where the majority of environmental and energy impacts occur. It requires the organisation to implement processes, set and monitor progress towards environmental and energy objectives, provide training, and ensure effective governance to minimise negative impacts, enhance positive impacts and ensure continual improvement.
The audit took place over four days and involved a full review of documentation, a site visit to campus to check onsite procedures, and numerous interviews with members of Estate Development and Campus Services.
The university achieved gold EcoCampus status at the start of 2025 and ends the year by achieving full certification.
We are delighted to have received these fantastic accolades for the work we do as a university around sustainability and the environment. We take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously and, in line with our Climate and Sustainability Plan 2025-2030, are committed to embedding sustainability within every aspect of the university’s activities.
Our People and Planet League ranking and the achievement of EcoCampus Platinum and ISO 50001 are a reflection of the expertise and hard work by colleagues across the university and I sincerely thank everybody involved for their ongoing efforts.
Professor Phil Vickerman, LJMU’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Student Experience) and climate lead
More about climate action and sustainability at LJMU
The university this year published its Climate and Sustainability Plan 2025-2030 which outlines the steps we are taking to reduce our carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices across all activity.
The targets in the plan align with UN Global Sustainability Goals and are based around strong collaborations both within the university and with external partners locally, nationally and globally.
The university’s key performance indicators and targets for the next five years include:
- Reducing Scopes 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions by lowering energy and water consumption and increasing the electricity generated on site
- Working with local transport partners to get a fair and practical pricing structure for sustainable travel for our commuting students and staff
- Achieving 70% recycling rate and reducing waste produced per person
- Providing carbon awareness or sustainability training courses for staff and students
- Increasing the environmental sustainability of our research and innovation work by enabling and encouraging a sustainable research culture at LJMU
- Creating new green spaces which are engaging and available to the public and our LJMU community
- Increasing species richness across our estate by 10% against a 2025 baseline
