News / Sustainability
UWE named among top UK universities for maintenance investment
UWE Bristol has emerged as one of the UK’s top-performing universities for building maintenance, further strengthening its sustainability credentials.
It is reported that UWE Bristol has completed nearly 37,500 repair and remediation projects in 2023 alone. The university outperformed several prestigious institutions in the sustainability index, demonstrating a strong commitment to campus upkeep.
Among newer universities granted status post-1990, UWE Bristol ranked highest for investment in maintenance, allocating over £6m for high-specification repairs and remediation in the most recent financial year.
The finding were published by SFG20, widely recognised as the industry standard for building maintenance specifications, who submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 105 institutions between December 2024 and February 2025.
UWE Bristol has completed nearly 37,500 repair and remediation projects in 2023 alone – photo: DigitallyPR
Universities were asked to provide data on total repair expenditure, the number of completed and outstanding maintenance requests and projected budgets for 2024.
From the 61 responses received, each university was scored out of 100 based on how their figures compared to peers, with higher scores reflecting greater investment and efficiency in building maintenance.
The final rankings were derived from a balanced set of metrics to fairly evaluate performance across the sector.
The Universities of Oxford, York, Durham and Bradford also featured prominently in the top five for efficient and responsive maintenance management.
According to Paul Bullard, product director at SFG20, well-planned maintenance strategies not only reduce costs but play a crucial role in attracting top-tier students and staff.
“Well-maintained facilities create inspiring spaces for learning,” he said, “and are now essential for both academic excellence and student well-being.”
The current sustainability recognition comes on the back of completing the UK’s largest low carbon student digs (Purdown View) in 2024.
The student digs at Purdown View is the largest low-carbon student digs in the UK – photo: Tom Bright
Established by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), SFG20 is considered a comprehensive, dynamically updated library of over 1,500 maintenance schedules, helping organisations remain compliant while optimising costs and performance.
Main photo: UWE Bristol
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