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Nov 25, 2023

DMU ranked 16th best university in the world for recycling and sustainability

Making a positive difference to the world we live in has put De Montfort

Making a positive difference to the world we live in has put De Montfort University, Leicester (DMU) among the top 16 universities in the world for recycling and sustainability.

Announced in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2023, the university has been ranked 16th in the world for its commitment to responsible consumption and production - a 14 place increase on last year's rankings.

Now in their fifth year, the rankings include 1,591 institutions worldwide from over 112 countries, making it the largest participation to date, further highlighting the university's achievement.

The rankings employ indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

Universities are then measured on their work towards achieving the United Nations’ (UN) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - a global call to action to tackle poverty, climate change and inequality.

While it scored highly on its work to meet many of the SDGs, DMU was ranked highest on its efforts towards SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, which centres on the efficient use of resources and minimising waste.

Universities are also measured on research, publication of sustainability reports, proportion of recycled waste and operational measures including a number of policies on: ethical sourcing of food, disposal of hazardous waste, use of plastic, and measurements of waste sent to landfill.

Further to its success, this year's rankings have seen DMU recognised in the top 100 universities globally for its work towards five of the SDG's, including:

Karl Letten, Sustainability Manager at DMU said: "DMU is really committed to embedding sustainability and the SDGs across all its activities and operations, to be recognised by the Times Higher Impact Rankings in this way is absolutely fantastic.

"We have seen great engagement from our staff and students across our sustainability activities, from embedding the SDGs into teaching and learning, to how we manage the campus to reduce carbon emissions and support biodiversity."

The university is committed to the SDGs and sustainability is at the heart of its operations. From managing buildings to embedding sustainability into teaching and learning, to engaging staff and students on global issues, DMU has a long list of measures in place to make the university more sustainable, including: