King’s College London officially ranks as 16th in the world for 2026 sustainability

King’s College London (KCL) has officially ranked as 16th in the world for sustainability in the QS World Rankings: Sustainability 2026. 

The annual rankings evaluate universities worldwide in order to assess their contribution to social and environmental sustainability. This includes criteria that ranges from environmental impact, social impact, and governance with the possibility of scoring a total of 100 per cent in each.

This year’s league table saw almost 2,000 higher education institutions assessed. However, it was ultimately Lund University Sweden that ranked as the world’s most sustainable university after achieving a significant overall score of 100.

King’s earned its place of 7th in the UK and 16th worldwide for the most sustainable university after achieving 97.2 overall.

The highest scoring categories included health and wellbeing, with an almost-perfect score of 99.2, and knowledge exchange and employability. In terms of assessing environmental impact, environmental research took the lead, whilst environmental education and environmental sustainability followed close behind.

KCL’s biggest rival UCL placed third with an impressive overall score of 99, making them the most sustainable London university.

Other universities that ranked highly included the University of Toronto, the University of Edinburgh and many more.

Interestingly, in the QS World University Sustainability Rankings last year, KCL was recognised as 6th in the UK and 14th globally, which is a few places higher than this year.

However, between 2024 and 2025, King’s had significantly risen from 44th to 14th globally, making it a considerable improvement from previous years. Not only that, in this year’s rankings, the university also beat both Bristol and Durham.

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This success can be attributed to the sustainable measures introduced by the university, such as the KEATS Sustainability & Climate module designed for both staff and students. This reflects the ever-growing importance and commitment to sustainability and the environment.

In addition, King’s has several major climate initiatives that aim to increase education around sustainability, contribute to global research, and introduce more environmentally-conscious practices in order to pave the way for a cleaner and greener future.

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