GCU named Scotland’s most environmentally sustainable university

Glasgow Caledonian has once again been ranked the leading university in Scotland for its exceptional contributions to environmental and social responsibility in the 2025/26 People & Planet University League.

We are ranked 33rd in the UK out of 147 universities – up two places from last year.

People & Planet is the UK's largest student campaigning network. Its annual University League is the only league table that ranks UK universities on their environmental and ethical performance.

The rating is based on scores across 14 categories, including environmental policy and strategy, workers' rights, education for sustainable development, and carbon and water reduction. The criteria is scored using data collected and made public by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and other external agencies, as well as from information available on universities' websites.

Paulo Cruz, Head of Operational Sustainability at Glasgow Caledonian, said: "The People and Planet University League evaluates the extent to which universities are becoming more sustainable across all aspects of their operations and our result is a fantastic recognition of our leadership in sustainability. We are delighted with our ranking at both Scotland and UK-level and are grateful for everyone’s input to making the University so sustainable."

The University also improved its position in the latest QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, rising to 532nd globally from joint 574th in the previous edition.

The University maintained its UK position at 64th among 109 UK institutions featured in the rankings, which assess universities' performance across environmental impact, social impact and governance.

The 2026 rankings featured approximately 2,000 universities across 106 global locations.

The QS methodology assesses university performance across three categories: Social Impact (45%), Environmental Impact (45%) and Governance (10%). Social Impact aggregates indicators including equality, knowledge exchange, impact of education, employability outcomes, and health and wellbeing. Environmental Impact considers environmental sustainability, education and research.