According to the most recent estates management record (EMR) from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), 59% of universities did not meet the sector-wide target of reducing carbon emissions directly controlled by the university by 43% between 2005/6 and 2020/21. Cardiff Metropolitan University has topped the People & Planet University League for the first time and is also the first Welsh university in the history of the League to finish in first place. Cardiff Metropolitan University has seen a rapid rise in its performance in recent years, jumping from 68th position in 2019 to 1^st place with 82.3% overall in 2022. This can be attributed to outstanding performance in carbon reduction, with a 65% decrease in carbon emissions between 2005/6 and 2020/21, as well as the pioneering policy of becoming the first university in the UK to divest from the border industry. Jack Ruane, University League Manager at People & Planet said: “In 2010 the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Universities UK (UUK), and Guild Higher Education (Guild HE) set out a target of a 43% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020/21 from a 2005/6 baseline, which was also incorporated into the People & Planet University League assessment criteria. It is disappointing to see that 59% of the UK universities have failed to achieve this. This highlights the importance of holding the sector accountable via short-term assessments of actual reductions in carbon emissions, rather than celebrating net zero target-setting, which are often vague on how offsetting will be achieved.”