Some of the region’s universities have been criticised for a lack of green credentials after they plummeted down a league table ranking them on their environmental efforts.

Joe Peacock, from Birmingham Friends of the Earth, said universities needed to “do more” to cut carbon emissions and encourage students to think green.

His comments come as universities in the West Midlands suffered mixed fortunes in a survey to find the UK’s greenest institution.

The Green League, compiled by the People and Planet campaigning network, is an independent table of UK universities ranked by environmental and ethical performance.

Institutions were ranked according to 13 criteria, including environmental policy, energy sources, fair trade involvement and waste and recycling.

Leading the way in the West Midlands was the University of Worcester, which came third overall, followed by Aston University in 12th place.

Other local universities which didn’t fare so well included Birmingham City University, which dropped 24 places from last year to 53, and the University of Birmingham, which fell 39 places to 73.

Mr Peacock said: “It is good to see universities like Worcester and Aston up there towards the top of the table, but it is especially disappointing that the University of Birmingham is so low.

“It has research going into lots of new renewable technology, so it seems strange it is not leading the way in sustainability. It should be the leading light to Midland businesses in showing that Birmingham can be a greener city.”

The University of Birmingham said it is on course to cut emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, while accommodating expansion in “energy intensive research” in bio-medical and physical sciences.

The university was also one of the first to take part in the studentswitchoff project, which saved 200 tonnes of CO2 in 2009-10, and runs a similar scheme to reward groups of staff for improving their environmental performance.

Professor John Heath, chairman of the university’s sustainability task group, said: “As a university which excels in energy intensive research across the bio-medical and physical sciences reducing energy consumption is a challenge but it is something we take very seriously.”

The University of Worcester, which was ranked third behind Nottingham Trent University and the University of Gloucestershire, was given a “first class” award for green initiatives, including using air source heat pumps to heat hot water on campus.

Aston University scored top marks for its waste and recycling management, which included removing all individual waste bins in teaching rooms in favour of communal recycling points.

Other high climbers included the University of Staffordshire, which moved from 104th place last year up to 40th.

Finance director Neil Scott said the university had “invested heavily” in energy efficient technologies to cut carbon emissions by around 12 per cent, bringing in a saving of around £200,000.

People and Planet campaigns manager Louise Hazan said it was “hard to compare” the West Midlands’ performance against the rest of the UK.

She said: “It is often the case that universities that tend to be at the top of academic league tables do not score as highly in this league table. This can be because they are in older buildings and are research intensive, which uses a lot of energy.’’