This page relates to the pilot edition of the QS Sustainability Ranking. For the current methodology, please visit here.
This lens assesses the institution’s strategy and operations towards an environmentally sustainable future. It asks whether or not an Institution has a) committed to environmental impact alleviation and b) demonstrated that commitment. Data from alumni, operations and policies, staff perceptions and reporting & governance are aggregated to form the final score.
Weights of metrics for Sustainable Institutions:
| Metric | Weight (In the lens / Overall) |
| Alumni Impact for Innovation | 34.3% / 6% |
| Member of an officially recognised sustainable group | 5.7% / 1% |
| Climate change commitment (staff view) | 14.3% / 2.5% |
| Publicly available strategy on sustainable procurement | 5.7% / 1% |
| Publicly available strategy on sustainable investment | 5.7% / 1% |
| Student Society focused on Environmental Sustainability | 5.7% / 1% |
| Report on Emissions / Energy / Water use | 17.1% / 3% |
| Race to Zero Commitment | 11.4% / 2% |
Alumni Impact for Innovation
Alumni Impact is a well-established metric used previously in QS Graduate Employability Rankings, QS Global MBA and Business Masters Rankings, as well as a component part of the Employment Outcomes indicator in our World University Rankings. In order to estimate the Alumni Impact for Innovation, we use only relevant awards and lists such as "30 Under 30: Social Entrepreneurs" by Forbes, "Stockholm Water Prize" by Stockholm Water Foundation, FT's 'Climate Leaders 2022' and such like.
Member of an officially recognised sustainable group
We check whether institutions are members of the following groups committed to climate change in the sector:
- U7 Alliance - List of Members
- ISCN Network - List of Members
- HESI Network - List of Members
- IARU - List of Members
Each unique institution on these lists will get a score of 100.
Climate Change Commitment (Staff View)
As part of QS Academic Reputation Survey, we ask respondents about what institution they are affiliated with and to what extent their institution prioritizes minimizing its climate change impact in its day-to-day operations. Institutions which meet the response rate threshold receive a non-zero score for Climate Change Commitment (Staff View) averaged across all responses. To avoid a low number effect, institutions with eligible but still low response rates are damped on a sliding scale.
Publicly available strategy on sustainable procurement
Each institution provides a public link to their strategy on sustainable procurement, QS validates the links, once validated the institution gets a score of 0 or 100.
Publicly available strategy on sustainable investment
Each institution provides a public link to their strategy on sustainable investment, QS validates the links, once validated the institution gets a score of 0 or 100.
Student Society focused on Environmental Sustainability
Each institution provides a public link to their student society with a focus on environmental sustainability, QS validates the links, once validated the institution gets a score of 0 or 100.
Report on Emissions / Energy / Water use
If an institution records and reports on these, they get a score of 100 for each record and these scores are averaged.
Race to Zero Commitment
If an institution is part of the Race to Zero Commitment - list of members. They will get a score of 50 for having a published plan or statement, then the other 50 is dependent on the Net-Zero target.
If their target year is:
- Before 2022 : score 50
- Between now and 2025 : score 45
- Between 2026 - 2030 : score 40
- Between 2031 - 2035 : score 35
- Between 2036 - 2040 : score 30
- Between 2041- 2045 : score 25
- Between 2046 - 2050 : score 20
- Between 2051- 2055 : score 15
- Between 2056 - 2060 : score 10
- After 2060 or year not given : score 5