The Impact Rankings measure the work of universities against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). BU has ranked joint 59th out of 2,318 universities internationally, and 8th best university in the UK.
This year has seen a big increase in the number of universities taking part (up from 1,963 to 2,318) and we are pleased that BU has retained a strong position in the top 3% and achieved a very high score of 91.6 out of 100.
BU submit data for all 17 SDGs and as well as an overall ranking, universities are awarded rankings by goal, with the top performing three plus SDG 17 generating our ranking. This year BU has scored highly in:
- SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production – BU ranked 15th internationally out of 973 participating institutions (11th in the UK), recognising high standards of operational waste management leading to a high proportion of waste recycled, our academic research and our sustainability reporting.
- SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth – BU ranked 18th internationally out of 1,350 participating institutions (2nd in the UK), due to our high percentage of students undertaking work placements, our high percentage of staff on secure contracts, and our research related to SDG 8.
- SDG15 Life on Land – BU ranked joint 59th out of 854 institutions (13th in the UK), with SDG 15 related research, action to support local land-based ecosystems and policies to support campus biodiversity all highlighted.
- SDG17 Partnership for the Goals – BU ranked 101-200th out of 2,389 institutions recognising our research which support the UNSDGs, our collaboration with NGOs and our work to embed the SDGs into educational curriculums.
Lois Betts, Sustainability Manager at BU said, “We publish our SDG progress report every year showing progress against each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and we use this to highlight and recognise the fantastic and wide-ranging work going on at BU which has an impact on the environment, society and the economy. The SDGs are a call to action which BU continues to rise to in areas ranging from climate action on campus, to research into protecting forests, reducing health inequalities in our local area and the work of our students and staff to preserve our oceans through artificial reef ecosystems. I encourage you to explore the BU SDG Report and thank you once again for your efforts to address the big challenges we face.”
You can view the THE Impact Rankings 2025 in full, including BU’s full scoring, by visiting the Times Higher Education website.
If you have any questions please email [email protected]
