The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability evaluates how effectively higher education institutions contribute to a more sustainable future through their education, research, operations, governance, and societal engagement.
It is designed to provide students, universities, policymakers, and other stakeholders with a comprehensive view of institutional sustainability performance, recognising that universities influence sustainable development not only through their academic activities but also through their role as major employers, community partners, and large operational organisations.
The ranking assesses both an institution's commitment to sustainability and the observable evidence of that commitment. This includes the impact of research aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the achievements of alumni in addressing environmental and social challenges, the quality of sustainability-related education, institutional policies and practices, operational performance, and the effectiveness of governance structures.
The methodology comprises three Categories:
- Environmental Impact (45%): evaluates how universities contribute to environmental sustainability through education, research, operational practices, climate commitments, and alumni impact.
- Social Impact (45%): evaluates how universities create positive social outcomes through employability, equality, health and wellbeing, educational impact, and knowledge exchange.
- Governance (10%): evaluates the extent to which institutions demonstrate ethical leadership, transparency, accountability, stakeholder participation, and effective governance practices.
These Categories are further divided into nine Lenses and 52 Indicators, combining data from public sources, institutional submissions, global surveys, national statistics, research databases, and external reference datasets.
A distinguishing feature of the Sustainability ranking is its close alignment with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every indicator is mapped to one or more SDGs, enabling the ranking to measure university performance against internationally recognised sustainability priorities.
Themes
In addition to being organised into Categories, Lenses, and Indicators, the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability groups indicators into six cross-cutting thematic areas. These themes provide an alternative way of understanding the methodology by highlighting the types of evidence used to assess sustainability performance.
While Research, Policy, and Infrastructure focus primarily on institutional activity and capability, Reputation, Students and Staff, and National Statistics offer perspectives on stakeholder experience, societal impact, and contextual factors.
Together, they ensure that the ranking captures not only institutional commitments and outcomes, but also the broader environment in which universities operate and the stakeholders they influence.
Research
The Research thematic area evaluates how universities contribute to sustainable development through the creation, dissemination, and influence of knowledge. It includes indicators that measure research performance aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the impact of research outputs, knowledge exchange activities, policy citations, open-access publishing, and academic freedom.
Research indicators are a key component of both the Environmental Impact and Social Impact categories, recognising the critical role universities play in generating evidence and solutions to global challenges.
Policy
The Policy thematic area assesses the institutional frameworks, strategies, and commitments that support sustainability objectives. It includes indicators relating to climate action, sustainable procurement and investment, equality and inclusion, disability support, industry engagement, community outreach, governance processes, and sustainability leadership.
These indicators examine whether universities have embedded sustainability principles into their formal decision-making, strategic direction, and organisational culture.
Infrastructure
The Infrastructure thematic area focuses on the physical environment and facilities that support sustainability performance. It includes indicators relating to environmental research centres, carbon emissions efficiency, renewable energy generation, progress towards emissions-reduction targets, campus health provision, and accessibility.
These measures assess how effectively institutions manage and utilise their physical assets to support environmental sustainability, health, wellbeing, and research activity.
Reputation
The Reputation thematic area captures the perceptions of key stakeholder groups, including academics, employers, university staff, and other experts. It includes indicators measuring academic reputation in specific subject areas, employer reputation, staff perceptions of climate action, equality, ethics, institutional impact, and graduate skills.
These indicators provide an external and internal perspective on how effectively universities are delivering against their sustainability objectives and broader educational mission.
Students and Staff
The Students and Staff thematic area recognises the importance of people in driving sustainability outcomes. It includes indicators focused on alumni impact, student and faculty demographics, leadership representation, student societies, student unions, and graduate achievements.
These measures evaluate both the composition of university communities and the long-term impact of graduates, reflecting the role universities play in developing future leaders, innovators, educators, and change-makers.
National Statistics
The National Statistics thematic area incorporates country- and territory-level data to provide context for institutional performance. Indicators draw on external datasets relating to research and development investment, employment opportunities, equality measures, health and wellbeing, educational attainment, academic freedom, and international human rights commitments.
By considering national context, the methodology provides a more rounded understanding of the environment in which institutions operate and the opportunities and constraints they may face.
Key Dates
Research for the World University Rankings begins in September and the Rankings are published in June.
Data Collection
| Date Starts | Date Ends | |
| Survey Contacts Submission | September 2025 | 31 January 2026 |
| Academic Survey | November 2025 | early March |
| Employer Survey | November 2025 | early March |
| Institution Data | January 2026 | 15 April 2026 |
Methodology
In each of our rankings we use a range of measurements as part of our methodology. These can be split into three broad groups.
Each ranking is made up of a different group of measurements, with some being used across several rankings and others unique to one project.
Category
Used in Sustainability, we use three Categories to group lenses together: Environmental Impact, Social Impact, and Governance
Lens
A group of Indicators which are related to the same theme.
Indicator
A measurement of one aspect of an institution’s performance. Institutions are scored and ranked within indicators and those indicator scores contribute to its overall rank and score.
Metric
A more specific calculation that forms part of an Indicator.
Categories, Lenses, and Indicators
Below you can find the Categories, Lenses, and Indicators used in this ranking. Click on any Category or Lens for more information.
Weightings are reviewed on an annual basis.
Environmental Impact
The Environmental Impact Category accounts for 45% of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability and evaluates how effectively universities contribute to environmental sustainability through their education, research, operational practices, climate commitments, and alumni impact.
It recognises that universities influence environmental outcomes not only through knowledge creation and teaching, but also through their institutional operations and the long-term contributions of their graduates.
The category is structured around three complementary lenses comprising 17 indicators:
Environmental Education
Environmental Education (17%) assesses how institutions develop environmental knowledge and climate literacy through the quality of their teaching, environmental curricula, and the impact of graduates working in environmental policy, government, NGOs and the third sector.
Indicators: EE1 - Academic Reputation in Earth and Environment; EE2 - Alumni Impact for Environmental Sustainability - Public and Third Sector; EE3 - Climate Science and/or Sustainability Courses
Environmental Research
Environmental Research (13%) evaluates the scale, quality and influence of sustainability-focused research, including research impact across key environmental SDGs, research infrastructure, policy influence, and the broader national research environment.
Indicators: ER1 - Research Impact on SDGs for Sustainable Research; ER2 - Sustainable Research National Statistics; ER3 - Research Centre with an Environmental Sustainability Focus; ER4 - Policy Citations (Environmental)
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability (15%) examines how universities embed sustainability within their own operations and strategy, including climate commitments, emissions performance, renewable energy generation, sustainability policies, stakeholder engagement, and evidence of progress towards environmental targets.
Indicators: ES1 - Alumni Impact for Innovation; ES2 - Member of an officially recognised sustainable group; ES3 - Climate change commitment (staff perception); ES4 - Publicly available strategy or policy on sustainable procurement and investment; ES5 - Student Society focused on Environmental Sustainability; ES6 - Net Zero Commitment; ES7 - Emissions Efficiency; ES8 - Renewables Generated Onsite; ES9 - Progress Towards Target; ES10 - Policy on Climate Strategy
Social Impact
The Social Impact Category accounts for 45% of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability and evaluates how effectively universities create positive outcomes for individuals, communities, and society.
It recognises the role of higher education institutions in improving employability, promoting equality and inclusion, advancing health and wellbeing, enhancing educational outcomes, and sharing knowledge beyond the university sector.
The category is structured around five complementary lenses comprising 25 indicators:
Employability and Opportunities
Employability and Opportunities (11%) assesses how successfully institutions prepare graduates for employment, support career outcomes, collaborate with industry, and conduct research that contributes to economic development and opportunity.
Indicators: EO1 - Employer Reputation; EO2 - Research Impact on SDGs for Employment and Opportunities; EO4 - Employment and Opportunities National Statistics; EO5 - Partnerships with Industry; EO6 - Skills Satisfaction
Equality
Equality (12%) evaluates institutional performance in promoting gender equality and reducing inequalities through research, representation, policies, support services, staff perceptions, and national context.
Indicators: EQ1 - Research Impact on SDGs for Equality; EQ2 - Student Gender Ratio; EQ3 - Faculty Gender Ratio; EQ4 - Leadership Gender Ratio; EQ5 - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy; EQ6 - Academic Equality (Staff View); EQ7 - Disability Support; EQ8 - Equality National Statistics
Health and Wellbeing
Health and Wellbeing (5%) measures contributions to health through both research and the provision of services that support the physical and mental wellbeing of students and staff.
Indicators: HW1 - Research Impact of SDGs for Health and Wellbeing ; HW2 - Health Provision on Campus; HW3 - Health and Wellbeing National Statistics
Impact of Education
Impact of Education (7%) examines educational quality and influence through research, academic reputation, alumni achievements, academic freedom, and wider national educational performance.
Indicators: IE1 - Research Impact on SDGs for Education; IE2 - Academic Reputation for Impact of Education; IE3 - Alumni Impact for Education; IE4 - Academic Freedom Index; IE5 - Impact of Education National Statistics
Knowledge Exchange
Knowledge Exchange (10%) assesses how universities collaborate, share expertise, engage with communities, and contribute to global knowledge transfer and capacity building.
Indicators: KE1 - Knowledge Exchange: Progress / Dissemination; KE2 - Outreach and Community Engagement; KE3 - Staff perception; KE4 - Policy Citations (Social)
Governance
The Governance Category accounts for 10% of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability and evaluates the extent to which universities demonstrate effective, ethical, transparent, and accountable leadership.
It recognises that strong governance is a fundamental enabler of sustainable development, ensuring that institutions have the structures, processes, and culture necessary to make responsible decisions, engage stakeholders, and deliver on their sustainability commitments.
The category consists of a single lens, Good Governance (10%), which comprises 10 indicators that collectively assess institutional leadership, transparency, participation, ethical conduct, and accountability.
Good Governance
Good Governance (10%) is designed to assess both the formal structures that support good governance and the extent to which those structures are embedded within institutional culture and practice.
Indicators: GG1 - Ethics Culture; GG2 - Open-Access Publishing; GG3 - Dedicated staff / team for Sustainable Development; GG4 - Transparent financial reporting; GG5 - Student's Union; GG6 - Student Representation in Governance; GG7 - Published governance minutes; GG8 - National Signatory to UN charter against torture; GG9 - Staff perception; GG10 - Policy Citations (Governance)
Eligibility and Inclusion
Not all higher education institutions are eligible for our rankings, and not all eligible institutions are ranked. Below you can find the criteria for institutions.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Sustainability Rankings an institution must be eligible for one or all of the following:
- QS World University Rankings
- QS Rankings by Region
- QS Rankings by Subject
Business Schools are not currently eligible.
Inclusion
To be included in the Sustainability Rankings an institution must:
- Possess a non-zero score in 'Research Impact on SDGs for Environmental Research (Environmental Impact category)
- Possess a non-zero score in at least 2 out of 4 SDG research metrics in the Social Impact category
- EO2 - Research Impact on SDGs for Employment and Opportunities
- EQ1 - Research Impact on SDGs for Equality
- HW1 - Research Impact of SDGs for Health and Wellbeing
- IE1 - Research Impact on SDGs for Education
Data Submissions
All institutions can submit data for the rankings. This data is important in ensuring our rankings are as accurate as possible.
You should submit data for your institution through our QS HUB platform. Please contact our Institution Support Team via our helpdesk if you do not have login details, or need further support.
Our rankings are not opt-in/opt-out, so it is in an institution's best interest to ensure that we reflect them accurately by submitting their data.
Where we don’t have data submitted by an institution, we feature them on the strength of proprietary and publicly available or previously supplied data. Our rankings are designed with this in mind.
If you would like your institution to be considered for inclusion in the Rankings and your institution has not received a submission email, please contact: rankings@qs.com.
Data Reporting Period
For the majority of the data we request, the reporting period should cover the academic year previous to our rankings cycle.
This will be approximately January to December for the Southern Hemisphere, and August to July for the Northern Hemisphere.
There are exceptions to this, so please refer to our data dictionary if you are unsure.
Additional Data
Some data that we ask for is not immediately used in the weighted indicators, but it is important for QS to collect so that we may assess whether it can be included in the methodology in the future.
It also allows us to create a useable volume of data covering several years that can be introduced into the process when required.
We encourage all institutions to submit all the data they are able to so that the rankings can continue to evolve.
In Sustainability the following additional data is asked for:
Assessment tool
- The presence of an assessment tool - such as TASK™ by Sulitest - in assessing the knowledge of staff and students
- TASK™ enables organizations to measure the sustainability knowledge of their community through a psychometric, multiple-choice question assessment covering a comprehensive scope of sustainability-related subjects
Energy consumption
- The institution's annual energy consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh)
Scope 3 emissions
- The total Scope 3 carbon emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e)
- Scope 3 emissions are those created by activities from assets not owned or controlled by the institution, but that the institution indirectly affects in its value chain
- This can include emissions from staff commuting or from suppliers
Student scholarship numbers
- The numbers of students with scholarships covering 50% or 100% of their fees
Sustainability training
- The existence of mandatory annual training on environmental and social aspects of sustainability
Water consumption
- The institution's annual water consumption in cubic metres (m3)
