Polar bears starving from the knock-on effects of global warming should be pleased to note that The University for the Creative Arts’ Epsom campus has reduced its energy consumption carbon footprint by more than a third since 2010.

This is the equivalent of 2,286 tonnes of carbon emissions per year; the average human exhales about 0.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

The 37 per cent reduction means that UCA has achieved its 2020 target emissions rate three years early, made possible by the introduction of 26 energy-reducing projects over the last eight years.

Scott Keiller, sustainability officer at UCA, said: “Since establishing targets to significantly reduce our emissions in 2010, we have worked incredibly hard to achieve the savings we are now observing.

“Reaching our absolute emissions reduction target for 2019/20 in the 2016/17 year – a saving equivalent to cutting annual emissions of 560 average UK households – is testament to the commitment of the University to safeguard the climate for present and future generations.”

Last year, UCA joined a growing number of universities declaring that it has no direct investment in companies involved in the carbon energy industry, including those involved in extracting fossil fuels.