Homepage emissions: UK Learning Providers

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The internet consumes a lot of electricity. 416.2 TWh per year.

How are universities and colleges impacting the planet? You may not think of websites as sources of carbon emissions but they are. Data centres, transmission networks, and the devices we use to access them all use electricity which, in turn, produces carbon emissions. When your website has lots of visitors that can easily add up. We've used the Website Carbon Calculator (created by Wholegrain Digital) to assess UK learning provider homepages.

The results

The average emissions from a UK learning provider homepage are 1.22g (median of 0.85g) which is worse than an average website (0.5g). Overall, UK learning providers are doing badly. The top and bottom 10 websites are given here with the full list below.

Top 10 lowest emissions

UK learning providerCO2 (g)Rating
The University of Westminster0.17A
University of Leeds0.17A
London Business School0.18A
The University of Chichester0.19B
Norwich University College of the Arts0.21B
Plymouth Marjon University0.21B
Heriot-Watt University0.22B
University of Wales Prifysgol Cymru0.22B
University of Surrey0.24B
University of Lancaster0.25B

Top 10 highest emissions

UK learning providerCO2 (g)Rating
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland8.72F
Cranfield University5.98F
The Arts University College at Bournemouth5.81F
University of Sunderland5.71F
The Royal Veterinary College5.47F
The City University5.13F
University of London3.66F
Royal Holloway College and Bedford New College3.56F
Cardiff Metropolitan University3.36F
The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts3.31F

Ratings

We use Website Carbon's rating scale which rates websites on a scale from A+ to F. This is the distribution of ratings across local/combined authorities.

  • A+
  • A
    3
  • B
    18
  • C
    25
  • D
    18
  • E
    16
  • F
    81

Why should universities care?

Each visitor may only produce a few grams of CO2 emissions but when taken over time - and over the number of visitors - that can soon add up. For instance, if your page generates 1g of CO2 per visit and you get 10,000 visitors a month that works out at as much CO2 as boiling water for 5,700 cups of tea a year.

Aside from the environmental impact of large websites, there is also the impact on your visitors who are on limited data plans. A single visit to a 30MB homepage (12g of CO2) would use an entire day's worth of data for someone on a 1GB monthly plan.

How can a university do better?

Don't despair! The worst offenders usually have some very easy things they can do to dramatically reduce their CO2 emissions that most likely don't need the IT department to get involved. The first thing to do is check the file sizes of images you use on the front page. Often there will be a large header image, images in a carousel, or images associated with news items. These are most likely added through a content management system which doesn't optimise the image.

Check out our advice for local authorities, Wholegrain Digital's 17 ways you can make your website more efficient and our blog post from the #PlanetData2 event in 2020.

The full list

Here is the full list of universities with their CO2 emissions but you can also get this as a CSV file or TSV file. Note that university websites often change with new featured items and this can affect their CO2 emissions so this table is a snapshot.

RankUK learning providerUKPRNCO2 (g)RatingMBUpdated
1Royal Conservatoire of Scotland100055618.72F34.62023-12-07
2Cranfield University100078225.98F9.92022-09-06
3The Arts University College at Bournemouth100003855.81F23.12023-12-07
4University of Sunderland100071595.71F22.72023-12-07
5The Royal Veterinary College100077795.47F21.72023-12-07
6The City University100014785.13F20.42023-12-07
7University of London100077973.66F14.52023-12-07
8Royal Holloway College and Bedford New College100055533.56F14.12023-12-07
9Cardiff Metropolitan University100078543.36F13.42023-12-07
10The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts100039453.31F13.12023-12-07
11Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Ltd100080173.15F14.42023-12-07
12London Metropolitan University100040483.09F12.32023-12-07
13University of the Arts, London100071623.03F12.02023-12-07
14University of Bath (The)100078502.92F11.62023-12-07
15Royal Academy of Music100078352.85F13.12023-12-07
16University of East Anglia100077892.78F12.72023-12-07
17Leeds College of Art100038542.53F11.62023-12-07
18University College Falmouth100086402.52F11.52023-12-07
19Harper Adams University100408122.46F9.82023-12-07
20University of Salford100071562.36F9.42023-12-07
21Glasgow Caledonian University100077622.34F10.72023-12-07
22Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln100078112.29F9.12023-12-07
23Leeds College of Music100344492.28F10.42023-12-07
24Writtle College100076572.19F8.72023-12-07
25University of Aberdeen100077832.04F8.12023-12-07
26University of Winchester100036142.01F8.02023-12-07
27London South Bank University100040782.00F7.92023-12-07
28University of Nottingham100071541.98F7.92023-12-07
29University of Bedfordshire100071521.94F7.72023-12-07
30University of the West of Scotland100078001.68F6.72023-12-07
31University of Essex100077911.65F6.52023-12-07
32University of Hull100071491.63F6.52023-12-07
33University of Plymouth100078011.61F6.42023-12-07
34Liverpool John Moores University100039571.59F6.32023-12-07
35University of Leicester100077961.58F6.32023-12-07
35Glyndwr University100078331.58F6.32023-12-07
37University of Glamorgan / Prifysgol Morgannwg100077931.50F6.92023-12-07
37St Mary's University College, Twickenham100078431.50F6.02023-12-07
39The University of Cumbria100078421.47F6.82023-12-07
40University of Cambridge100077881.46F5.82023-12-07
41University Campus Suffolk Ltd100140011.37F5.42023-12-07
42Edge Hill University100078231.33F6.12023-12-07
43University of Edinburgh100077901.32F5.22023-12-07
44Roehampton University100077761.27F5.82023-12-07
45University of Hertfordshire100071471.26F5.02023-12-07
45Nottingham Trent University100047971.26F5.02023-12-07
47University of Worcester100071391.25F5.02023-12-07
47University of Exeter100077921.25F5.02023-12-07
49University of Reading100078021.24F4.92023-12-07
50University of Greenwich100071461.21F4.82023-12-07
51University of Newcastle Upon Tyne100077991.20F4.82023-12-07
52London School of Economics & Political Science100040631.17F4.62023-12-07
53Loughborough University100041131.16F4.62023-12-07
54St George's Hospital Medical School100077821.15F4.62023-12-07
54Rose Bruford College100055231.15F4.62023-12-07
56University of Bristol100077861.13F4.52023-12-07
57Royal College of Music100077781.12F4.42023-12-07
58Middlesex University100043511.11F4.42023-12-07
59Aston University100077591.10F4.42023-12-07
60University of Durham100071431.05F4.22023-12-07
60Oxford Brookes University100049301.05F4.22023-12-07
62University of Derby100078511.03F4.72023-12-07
63University of the Highlands and Islands100071141.02F4.72023-12-07
64Southampton Solent University100060221.01F4.02023-12-07
64Northern School of Contemporary Dance100088161.01F4.02023-12-07
64Bournemouth University100008241.01F4.62023-12-07
67University College London100077841.00F4.62023-12-07
67Newman University College100078321.00F4.62023-12-07
69University of Wales: Trinity Saint David100078580.99F3.92023-12-07
70Royal Agricultural University100055450.98F4.52023-12-07
71University of Chester100078480.97F3.82023-12-07
72Courtauld Institute of Art100077610.94F4.32023-12-07
73St Mary's University College100080260.91F3.62023-12-07
74University of Gloucestershire100071450.90F4.12023-12-07
75Open University(The)100077730.89F3.52023-12-07
76University of Keele100077670.88F3.52023-12-07
76The University of Bolton100068410.88F3.52023-12-07
76The Robert Gordon University100055000.88F3.52023-12-07
79University of Stirling100078040.86F3.42023-12-07
79Leeds Trinity University College100038630.86F3.92023-12-07
81Liverpool Hope University100039560.85F3.42023-12-07
82School of Oriental and African Studies100077800.82E3.32023-12-07
83Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London100077750.80E3.22023-12-07
84University of Oxford100077740.78E3.12023-12-07
84University for the Creative Arts100064270.78E3.62023-12-07
84Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Limited100078380.78E3.12023-12-07
87Canterbury Christ Church University100011430.75E3.02023-12-07
88University of Huddersfield100071480.74E2.92023-12-07
88Teesside University100071610.74E3.02023-12-07
88Swansea University100078550.74E2.92023-12-07
88Sheffield Hallam University100057900.74E3.02023-12-07
92The Queen's University of Belfast100053430.72E2.92023-12-07
93Anglia Ruskin University100002910.71E2.82023-12-07
94University of Portsmouth100071550.70E2.82023-12-07
95Royal Northern College of Music100078370.69E2.82023-12-07
96University of Brighton100008860.68E2.72023-12-07
96University of Abertay Dundee100078490.68E2.72023-12-07
98University of Lincoln100071510.65D2.62023-12-07
99Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh100053370.62D2.52023-12-07
100Edinburgh Napier University100077720.61D2.42023-12-07
100Birmingham City University100071400.61D2.42023-12-07
102University of Northumbria at Newcastle100012820.59D2.32023-12-07
102University of Bradford100077850.59D2.32023-12-07
104York St John University100077130.58D2.72023-12-07
105The Manchester Metropolitan University100041800.57D2.62023-12-07
105Buckinghamshire New University100009750.57D2.32023-12-07
107University of the West of England, Bristol100071640.54D2.12023-12-07
107University of Warwick100071630.54D2.22023-12-07
107University College Birmingham100007120.54D2.12023-12-07
110Sruc100057000.53D2.12023-12-07
111The University of Northampton100071380.52D2.12023-12-07
111Staffordshire University100062990.52D2.12023-12-07
111Leeds Beckett University100038610.52D2.12023-12-07
114Goldsmiths' College100027180.51D2.02023-12-07
115Institute of Cancer Research: Royal Cancer Hospital (The)100033240.50D2.32023-12-07
116Stranmillis University College100080100.49C2.02023-12-07
116Bangor University100078570.49C2.22023-12-07
118University of York100071670.47C1.92023-12-07
118University of Sheffield100071570.47C1.92023-12-07
118Royal College of Art(The)100077770.47C2.22023-12-07
118Kingston University100036780.47C2.22023-12-07
122University of Liverpool100068420.46C1.82023-12-07
122University of Dundee100078520.46C1.82023-12-07
124University of Ulster100078070.45C1.82023-12-07
125University of Kent100071500.44C1.72023-12-07
126University of Central Lancashire100071410.42C1.72023-12-07
126Glasgow School of Art100026810.42C1.72023-12-07
126Bath Spa University100005710.42C1.92023-12-07
129University of Glasgow100077940.41C1.62023-12-07
129Coventry University100017260.41C1.92023-12-07
131University of East London100071440.40C1.82023-12-07
132London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine100077710.39C1.82023-12-07
132Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine100032700.39C1.62023-12-07
134Central School of Speech and Drama(The)100078160.38C1.72023-12-07
135University of Sussex100078060.37C1.52023-12-07
135Cardiff University100078140.37C1.52023-12-07
137University of Wolverhampton100071660.36C1.62023-12-07
137Guildhall School of Music and Drama100078250.36C1.72023-12-07
137Birkbeck College100077600.36C1.42023-12-07
140The University of West London100065660.35C1.62023-12-07
141University of St Andrews100078030.34B1.42023-12-07
141University of Birmingham100068400.34B1.42023-12-07
143University of Strathclyde100078050.32B1.32023-12-07
143The University of Manchester100077980.32B1.32023-12-07
145Ravensbourne Limited100053890.31B1.22023-12-07
145Prifysgol Aberystwyth100078560.31B1.22023-12-07
147De Montfort University100018830.30B1.22023-12-07
148University of Southampton100071580.29B1.12023-12-07
149King's College London100036450.28B1.12023-12-07
150Brunel University100009610.27B1.12023-12-07
151The University of Buckingham100077870.26B1.22023-12-07
152University of Lancaster100077680.25B1.02023-12-07
153University of Surrey100071600.24B0.92023-12-07
154University of Wales Prifysgol Cymru100085740.22B0.92023-12-07
154Heriot-Watt University100077640.22B0.92023-12-07
156Plymouth Marjon University100374490.21B1.02023-12-07
156Norwich University College of the Arts100047750.21B0.92023-12-07
158The University of Chichester100071370.19B0.92023-12-07
159London Business School100077690.18A0.82023-12-07
160University of Leeds100077950.17A0.72023-12-07
160The University of Westminster100071650.17A0.82023-12-07

Where the CO2 emissions are given as "?" no result could be found using the Website Carbon Calculator.

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