County Durham News

Durham Student Union received 0/10 in the ranking by People and Planet. This was due to the organisation not reaching the goal of “continual improvement towards environmental sustainability”.

Durham restaurant featured in prestigious Michelin Guide

Becks Fleet News Editor

run restaurant is the realisation of a dream for the three friends who crowdfunded its opening.

fficer recognises the fall in ranking, saying on Twi er, “Always good to see @durham_uni scoring fairly highly, but a bit of a slip from 30th to 39th this year - highlights the importance of student campaigns for fossil-free careers and the Real Living Wage!”

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A Durham University spokesperson said: “Our vision [is] to deliver the University’s mission of excellence in education, research and wider student experience in the most sustainable way possible.

“We were the most improved university in the country in the People and Planet University League 2021, rising 66 places to 30th. In the 2022 rankings, we are still in the top ten Russell Group universities, and our ambition is to achieve a ‘First’ classification.

“Recently we have been ranked 53rd in the global QS Sustainability Rankings, become a founding signatory of the Nature Positive Pledge and launched new master’s programmes in environmentrelated subject areas.

“We have also introduced a Sustainable Careers Policy and actively promote sustainable careers. This summer we funded students to complete paid internships at businesses to implement initiatives aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

People and Planet derived this score by looking at Durham SU’s website to see if their was a scheme for environmental sustainability and to see if the Student Union worked towards a “green impact”.

A Durham SU spokesperson said on the score that “While we recognise that sustainability work hasn’t been one of our priority areas recently as different candidates are elected to our Student Officer positions, Durham SU has continued working with students on these issues.

“We work with the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategic Planning Group, and along with Eco DU and other student campaign groups, we have been lobbying the University on ethical careers policies.

“We’re also campaigning this year for the University to become a Real Living Wage employer.

“While the students’ union aspect of the score is worth 0.5% of the total, we recognise there is always more work to be done in this area.

“ We also recognise that the SU’s home at Dunelm House is very energy inefficient, and difficult to improve given its listed status. This is a University owned and managed building - SU officers have long been arguing for increased investment in the space.”