June: Bristol scores very well in global ranking for sustainable development | News and features

The ranking presents the performance of more than 2,000 leading universities against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Released today, the 2024 rankings placed Bristol at 92nd^when (top 5%) globally.

Bristol was also confirmed as 27 years old^th in the world for SDG 12 “responsible consumption and production”, 40^th in the world for SDG 17 “partnerships for goals” and 45^th in the world for SDG 11 “sustainable cities and communities”.

In the United Kingdom, Bristol was placed 8th^th for SDG 11 “sustainable cities and communities”, 9^th for SDG 2 “zero hunger” and 10^th for SDG 1 “no poverty”.

The University of Bristol’s new strategic ambition underlines the transformative power of a global civic university.

Prof Palie Smart, Associate Vice-Chancellor for Global Civic Engagement at the University, said: “Bristol is a Global Civic University, which means we are committed to tackling global challenges to deliver civic impact locally, nationally and internationally.

“The UN Sustainable Development Goals are used in Bristol and beyond as a shared narrative to address the challenges we face locally and globally, so being ranked helps us in our interactions with our partners across the city, region and worldwide.

“We are so pleased to see Times Higher Education recognizing the work of our amazing staff and students and I would like to thank everyone at the University who made this possible.”

The rankings measure universities’ contribution to promoting sustainability through the key areas of research, teaching, community outreach and institutional behaviour.

Professor Michele Acuto, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Bristol, said: “We are proud to see our University take an excellent position in our first entry into THE Impact rankings.

“The university has been a pioneer in city-university collaborations to promote the SDGs locally and globally, (such as providing one of the first voluntary local reviews of the SDGs with the city), and the result is a fitting recognition of many employees and students proactively drive this global agenda.

“The Impact Rankings help us understand where the University is making the biggest strides and where we can make improvements to create positive change.”

The good news comes after the influential QS rankings placed Bristol in 54th place^th the best university in the world and 9^th the best in the UK. It also found Bristol to be the 17th^th the most sustainable university in the world.

Meanwhile, the Complete University Guide has placed 30 Bristol subjects in the top 10 of their fields in the UK.