Newcastle University ranked 15th worldwide for sustainability efforts

The Vice-Chancellor was pleased but not finished yet: “We are not complacent…”


Newcastle University has been ranked as one of the best universities in the world for sustainable development in the Times Higher Education Impact Ratings, ahead of over a thousand institutions all over the world.

The ratings examine universities’ performance against the United Nations’ 17 key “Sustainable Development Goals” set out in 2015. Included are targets such as: ending poverty, creating gender equality, industry innovation and infrastructure, and climate action. The university particularly excelled at goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, where it ranked 2nd in the world.

Alongside reaching the top 15 internationally, the scores also mean the university ranks third in the UK and fifth in Europe.

Reacting to the achievement in a news piece on Newcastle University’s website, Vice-Chancellor Chris Day said: “Our performance in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are a testament to the hard work of our colleagues and students. They highlight our institutional efforts towards making lasting change through our research and our teaching, as well as our daily practices.”

Tackling climate change was another important part of the university’s efforts towards sustainability, having declared a climate emergency in 2019 and recently moving forward their goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The Vice Chancellor emphasised: “We are not complacent and recognise that we all need to push further and faster on environmental sustainability and reducing our environmental impact.”

Alongside Newcastle’s success, Manchester University was crowned the overall most sustainable university worldwide, with Kings College London reaching 11th. The University of Leeds trails directly behind Newcastle in 16th place. Universities in Canada and Australia also ranked particularly highly throughout.

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