A south Bucks university has scooped an award for its efforts in reducing carbon emissions.

Bucks New University, which has a campus in Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, as well as in Great Missenden, Aylesbury and Uxbridge, has reduced its emissions by 48 per cent since 2005 and is in the top ten performers out of 127 higher education institutions, according to a new report.

As a result, it received a Brite Green Top 10 University Carbon Reduction award.

Figures released by sustainability strategy consultancy Brite Green revealed Bucks is seventh in the higher education sector for carbon reduction and is also one of very few in the sector to hold the Carbon Trust Standard.

Projects to reduce the university’s carbon footprint have included lighting systems with presence and absence detection, and daylight dimming, the installation of solar panels, efficient ventilation systems and the use of electric vans for post-delivery and maintenance staff, among others.

Alastair Jack, sustainability and energy manager, said: “It’s fantastic to see the fall in the university’s carbon footprint and have the hard work of the university recognised.

“With new carbon reduction projects being undertaken each year, we are on course to hit our own 50 per cent carbon reduction target several years early.”

Congratulating the university, Darren Chadwick, managing partner at Brite Green, said: “Universities across the country are demonstrating the benefits of implementing carbon management programmes, with some, like Bucks, delivering incredible reductions.

“Sustainability is a key strategic issue for universities and leading institutions recognise that it needs to be managed across all aspects of university life – from teaching and research to investment strategy and estates management.”