Royal College of Art improves its ranking in 2024/25 People & Planet University League table

The People & Planet University League is a comprehensive and independent league table of UK universities ranked by environmental and ethical performance. It is published annually and assesses UK universities based on staff and student engagement, ethical careers and recruitment, carbon management and education for sustainable development.

The Royal College of Art has been promoted by 64 places in the rankings, from 116th in last year’s league table to 52nd overall this year.

Staff and students across the whole of the RCA community have pulled together to improve the College’s score.

Actions that have helped to improve the RCA's ranking include:

• adopting an Environmental Sustainability Strategy and setting targets to improve environmental performance
• calculating the College’s first carbon footprint and improving access to environmental data provided the building blocks for developing the College's first Environmental Sustainability Strategy
• improved data reporting, including to the HESA Estates Management Record
• the development of the Staff & Student Engagement Strategy, and the implementation of a Responsible Investment Policy
• the College’s accreditation as a Living Wage Employer
• the recruitment of a permanent member of staff dedicated to Environmental Sustainability, and
• the adoption of an Ethical Careers Statement.

The College community is now working hard towards implementing the Environmental Sustainability Strategy and continually improving environmental performance throughout 2025.

View the full People & Planet University league table here.