Times Higher Education (THE) have announced a new edition of their sustainability rankings, now renamed the Sustainability Impact Ratings. The eventual plan is that THE will move from the ranks and scores provided by the current “gold standard framework”, to “presenting the congested numerical score data in banded groups”, although the date for the transition has not been decided.
THE are now charging for membership of the Sustainability Impact Network. The annual fee is £3,500 for universities in high-income and upper middle-income countries and £1,000 for those in lower middle-income countries. Membership is free for those in low-income nations.
The ratings are based on contributions to the UN’s17 Sustainability Development Goals and comprise four pillars of evaluation: Research, Stewardship, Outreach, and Teaching.
The number of participating universities is 1,646 this year, a sharp decline from 2025. The Philippines have the largest number of participants, 160, followed by India with 110, Türkiye with 74, Thailand with 69, and Indonesia with 67. In contrast, there are no universities from Russia or Iran and only a handful from Germany, the Netherlands, and Israel.
The top universities for the various goals are:
Overall; University of Manchester, UK
1. No Poverty; University of Huddersfield, UK
2. Zero Hunger; Queen’s University, UK
3. Good Health and Well-Being; Mahidol University, Thailand
4. Quality Education; Lingnan University, Hong Kong
5. Gender Equality; Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
6. Clean Water and Sanitation; RMIT University, Australia
7. Affordable and Clean Energy; Lovely Professional University, India
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth; Korea University, South Korea
9. Industry Innovation and Infrastructure; City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
10. Reduced Inequalities; University of Huddersfield, UK
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities; University of Manchester, UK
12. Responsible Consumption and Production; University of Manchester, UK
13. Climate Action; University of Tasmania, Australia
14. Life Below Water; Griffith University, Australia
15. Life on Land; University of Manchester, UK
16; Peace Justice and Strong Institutions; Thammasat University, Thailand
17. Partnership for the Goals; University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia.
Source:
Times Higher Education