Keele University has once again been judged as a “First Class” university in an assessment of its environmental and ethical impact, scoring a perfect 100% across three categories.

This year’s People and Planet University League Table, which ranks UK universities on their environmental and ethical performance, has seen Keele receive a perfect score for its environmental policy, sustainability education, and provision of sustainability-focused staff.

The judges score universities using a set of criteria that assess their environmental and ethical commitments and actions, with this strong performance reaffirming Keele’s world-leading reputation for sustainability.

Keele also performed well in assessments of its energy sources, and for its levels of staff and student engagement with sustainability issues, placing 27th on the table overall out of more than 150 institutions across the UK.

This comes in the same year that Keele was named Global Sustainability Institution of the Year at the International Green Gown Awards, and just months after Keele’s Low Carbon Energy Generation Park began generating electricity from sustainable sources, providing up to 50% of the campus’ electricity needs.

Professor Mark Ormerod, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, and Institutional Lead for Sustainability said: “I’m delighted that Keele University has once again been ranked as First Class in People and Planet’s overall assessment of UK universities’ environmental and ethical impact, reflecting our whole institution approach to embedding sustainability in all aspects of our operations.

“To have scored 100% for our sustainability education and environmental policy, as well as for our provision of sustainability-focused staff, is particularly pleasing.”

Jonathan Porritt, Chancellor at Keele University and founder of Forum for the Future, added: “There are still too many universities who do not give sustainability the attention or significance it deserves. Never has this information been more urgently needed or more valuable – especially from a student perspective.”