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Coventry University retains Green Flag Award for 13th year as bee-friendly campus earns DEFRA recognition
Coventry University Grounds Team (L-R): Peter Thorp, Andy Weston, Darcie Towers, Ewan Haig and Matthew Sephton.
University news / Student news / Business news / Theme / Sustainability, Clean Growth and Manufacturing
Wednesday 15 July 2026
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Coventry University's city centre campus has been awarded a prestigious Green Flag Award for the 13th consecutive year - recognising more than a decade of investment in high-quality green spaces and environmental sustainability.
The Green Flag award is the international benchmark for well-managed parks and green spaces, recognising exceptional environmental standards, excellent visitor experiences and strong commitments to sustainability and biodiversity.
The university's biodiversity initiatives have also received national recognition, with a wildflower meadow at Godiva Place earning a 2026 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Bees' Needs Champion Award. The award follows previous DEFRA recognition in 2019, 2023 and 2025 and reflects the university's ongoing investment in pollinator-friendly habitats through initiatives such as planting wildflowers and creating bug hotels across campus.
Over the past few years Coventry University has transformed its campus through the creation of spaces such as the Peace Garden, which sits opposite Coventry Cathedral, Starley Gardens and its edible garden, which serves as a pollinator hub and provides fruit, vegetables and herbs for the campus community to enjoy.
Those efforts, alongside a wider commitment to achieving net zero, have helped secure Green Flag status every year since 2014. The 2026 award follows an independent assessment of the university's green spaces and their management.
Our green spaces support biodiversity in the heart of Coventry while providing places for people to relax, connect and thrive. We're particularly proud that our pollinator-friendly habitats, including wildflower meadows, have been recognised through a DEFRA Bees' Needs Champion Award. Supporting bees and other pollinators is an important part of our commitment to biodiversity on campus.
Jamie Whitehouse, Grounds and Public Realm Manager at Coventry University
The awards follow a series of sustainability successes for Coventry University including being named Planet Saver - Green Business of the Year 2026, connecting parts of its campus to the city's low-carbon district heat network, winning a National Recycling Award and supporting the city's pioneering Very Light Rail project. The university’s approach to biodiversity and landscape management has also earned recognition through the Green Flag Best of the Best Climate Change Adaptation Award 2024 and Green Gown UK's Nature Positive category 2024.
Environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and this award recognises the investment and commitment we have made over many years to create a greener and more sustainable campus while supporting our ambition to reach net zero by 2030.
From enhancing biodiversity and reducing carbon emissions to supporting innovation and regeneration across the city, we are determined to make a positive difference for our students, colleagues, communities and the wider region.
Retaining Green Flag status for the 13th consecutive year is an incredible achievement and one everyone involved should be proud of.
Professor John Latham CBE, Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University and Group CEO
Coventry University has once again demonstrated its commitment to maintaining safe, welcoming and well-managed green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Congratulations to all those involved in this achievement.
Paul Todd MBE, Green Flag Award Scheme Manager at Keep Britain Tidy
The Green Flag Award scheme is managed by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and sets the benchmark standard for the management of parks and green spaces across the UK and around the world.
Discover more about sustainable development at Coventry University.
