Coventry University Group wins Planet Saver award for efforts to move campus and city towards net zero

Coventry University Group has been named as a Planet Saver for its commitment to becoming net zero and reducing its impact on the environment.

The university was presented with the Planet Saver – Green Business of the Year 2026 prize at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Community Awards. The award recognises the overall achievements of the education group in taking real action to reduce its environmental impact and build a greener future.

The driving force behind the award was the university’s project to join the city’s district energy network which is expected to cut carbon emissions by more than 1,300 tonnes a year - more than a fifth of the university’s annual emissions from fossil‑fuel heating.

A total of 11 buildings on the city centre campus are now connected to the 6.6km underground system which supplies heat from Coventry’s Energy from Waste (EfW) Facility on London Road.

The project is supported by almost £13 million from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which has also been used to install around 800 new solar panels across campus and to reglaze the university’s Elm Bank building to improve energy performance.

Judges at the Business and Community Awards praised Coventry University’s initiatives “that are already reducing emissions and supporting the wider community”, with other examples including the Green Futures Innovation Accelerator which supports SMEs in developing clean transport solutions and the West Midlands Net Zero Skills Report produced by the university to identify local green skills gaps and the urgent need to address them.

Find out more about sustainable development at Coventry University Group.