By Leigh Kamolins, Director of Analytics & Evaluation at QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
When I participated in the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN earlier this year, it was revealed that only 17% of the Sustainable Development Goals have seen progress in the last year, with a number of goals actually going backwards. This puts the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under threat with just six years remaining.
Both the World Economic Forum and UNESCO have recognised the importance of leveraging higher education in supporting the achievement of the SDGs. With hundreds of institutions, the UK higher education sector has a prominent role to play, but how does the country perform for sustainability and how can the sector elevate its performance to drive progress of the SDGs forward?
Where does the UK perform for environmental and social sustainability?
The QS World University Rankings assess universities on environmental, social and governance factors, integrating sustainability as a core metric of an institution’s performance. The sustainability performance of UK universities puts the country among the world’s top 20. However, the country’s average score sits at 51.1 out of 100 compared to the top three strongest countries, which score significantly higher: New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark.
It is important to interpret these results with caution. The UK’s average includes 90 ranked institutions, while New Zealand has eight. In a country with a larger number of universities, the lower-performing institutions can significantly lower the overall average.
The UK sector’s high sustainability performance is disproportionately concentrated among the top-ranked universities. On average, the top five UK institutions score 89 out of 100 for their overall Sustainability performance – trailing only Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
UK institutions thrive in social impact
If we pull in data from the QS Sustainability Rankings, the nine environmental, social, and governance lenses reveal key strengths and weaknesses for UK institutions.
On average, UK universities score highly across the Social Impact indicators in Health & Wellbeing, Equality, and Employability and Opportunities, linking to the SDG goals: Good health and wellbeing (3), Reduced inequalities (10) and Decent work and economic growth (8). The nation’s high average score in the Knowledge Exchange metric reflects the strong contribution that UK institutions make to researching key global health challenges.
In the UK, wealth inequality is rising and in 2023, the richest 50 families in the UK held more wealth than half of the UK population (Equality Trust). Earlier this year, PWC reported that the UK suffered the largest annual fall in the Women in Work Index, showing a decline in progress towards gender equality at work. With an average score of 92 in the Equality indicator, UK universities play a significant role in turning this picture around.
Enhancing graduate outcomes, narrowing the skills gap and amplifying employability credentials will help UK institutions improve their social impact performance and contribute to the broader UN Sustainable Development Agenda, particularly to SDG 8, Decent work and economic growth.
Effective governance provides a boost to UK performance
On average, UK institutions rank 32 places higher for good governance than their overall rank in the QS World University Rankings 2025, overachieving in their efforts to instil strong leadership, and transparent and evidence-based decision-making, supporting SDG goal 16, Peace, justice and strong institutions.
The University of York scores 100 in the Governance metric, elevating institutional governance to the highest level. The University’s Strategic Vision to 2030 positions the institution as a ‘University for Public Good’, committing to excellence in research and student experience above all, and working to build meaningful collaboration, investment in civic good, international reach and effective responses to the world’s greatest challenges.
Strong governance in UK institutions is a reflection not only of the efforts of individual institutions but the robust regulatory environment that the UK sector operates in, building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels (SDG 16).
Environmental indicators highlight room for improvement
The UK’s sustainable research impact is significant, illustrated by a high average score in the Environmental Research indicator and showcasing the UK’s significant contribution to the SDGs through research, in topics including Affordable and clean energy (7), Sustainable cities and communities (11) and Climate action (13). However, the Environmental Education and Environmental Sustainability metrics highlight crucial areas of improvement for the sector.
Making up 32% of a university’s overall sustainability score, these metrics assess how institutions educate students on climate-related subjects, and the demonstration of strategies and operations towards an environmentally sustainable future. Universities can improve their scores by integrating sustainability into curricula, fostering climate-conscious mindsets, and both implementing and amplifying sustainability practices and policies.
The University of Exeter performs above the UK’s average for the Environmental Impact metric and ranks joint 30th globally for sustainability (compared to =169th overall in the QS World University Rankings 2025). In 2019, Exeter declared an environment and climate emergency and appointed a working group to outline the timeframes, targets and actions required to minimise and mitigate the university’s impacts on the environment and climate. Initiatives include net carbon goals, lab sustainability, commitment to start a nature-positive journey and participating in the annual SDG Teach In. Additionally, Exeter, in partnership with QS, co-founded Future17—a transformative educational initiative that unites leading universities and international organisations to empower the next generation of students. Through a global ecosystem, students from member universities collaborate with international partners to generate insights and craft solutions addressing SDGs, shaping a more sustainable future for all.
Elevating the UK’s sustainability performance to support the SDGs
While the UK sees a sturdy overall performance in the QS sustainability metrics, the sector must work to help struggling institutions and elevate the country’s average to compete with the global sustainability superpowers. Institutions with limited resources will need to prioritise and collaborate for greater impact.
Looking beneath the surface of the rankings to understand your own competitive advantages is key to playing to your strengths and building your reputation. There isn’t a single mold of what a strong sustainable university should look like, but if you can identify and invest in the areas where you have capability and capacity for growth, and where to strategically partner for greater impact, you can help the sector collectively make greater impact on the Sustainable Development Agenda.