THE UNIVERSITY of Reading has risen more than 100 places to 61st in a global ranking of sustainability.
The QS World University Ranking analyses higher education institutions and ranks them according to overall performance, subjects, sustainability, and student living circumstances.
The University of Reading made the top 200 in sustainability last year, and has now risen more than 100 places to 61st place.
That means it is ranked 30th of nearly 500 institutions in Europe, and 21st of 93 in the UK.
Now the university is ranked at joint 43rd in the Environmental Impact rankings, up from 177 in the 2023 table.
It also ranked joint 9th for Social Impact, up from 162nd last year.
It comes after the institution saw a jump in every metric used by the analysts over the last year, with the university announcing recently that it has cut more than 60% of its carbon emissions compared to 2009.
It is also still on track to meet its target to become a Net Zero Carbon University by 2030.
The University of Toronto, Canada, topped the rankings for sustainability, closely followed by University College Berkeley in second, and the University of Manchester in third.
Imperial College, London, ranked sixth, and the Universities of Edinburgh, Bristol, Durham, and Glasgow also made the top 20.
QS also noted in its own analysis of the rankings that sustainability students are increasingly prioritising sustainability when choosing a university.
Of the prospective students surveyed, 79% said that it was “extremely” or “very” important that a university takes steps to reduce their environmental impact.
Only 2% said that it was not important at all, and 95% said it was at least “moderately” important.
Nearly half (49%) also consider a university’s social impact to be important when choosing where to study.
Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “We are maintaining our momentum to be considered one of the greenest universities in the world– it is useful to match our progress alongside partner universities globally.
“There is always more we can do, and we will continue to work with our colleagues, students and local community, as well as with other universities, to make positive changes in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises.
“Reducing our environmental impact takes effort but brings serious long-term benefits, and we want to help other people, businesses and universities to do the same.”
Full details of the rankings are available to view online via: topuniversities.com
