University of Edinburgh ranked 7th globally for sustainability

The University of Edinburgh has been recognised for its leadership on environmental and social impact, placing 7th in the world in the 2025 QS World University Rankings for Sustainability.

A total of 1,751 institutions were ranked, with the University placed 4th in Europe and 2nd in the UK. This shows an improvement on the previous year’s rankings, where the University placed 4th in the UK and 15th globally.

This year, the University received high scores for its teaching on sustainability, renewable energy generation on campus, and its work with local communities.

Through its Strategy 2030 vision, the University remains committed to making the world a better place by addressing environmental and social issues through a “whole-institution approach”. This means embedding environmental and social sustainability across every aspect of the University’s activities; from research and innovation, to teaching and learning and the University’s operations and estate.

This year’s rankings reflect the dedication of our staff and students to creating impactful solutions for a sustainable future. We continue to be inspired by our communities as we address the emergencies of climate change, biodiversity loss and social inequality. Going forward, we will strive to embed regenerative sustainability across all that we do.

12th in the world for social impact

Our staff, students and partners continue to engage with Edinburgh’s local communities to address social challenges, guided by the University’s Community Plan. These projects have had meaningful, real-world impacts that can help to transform lives and counter social inequality.

Case study: Community Access to Rooms

Community Access to Rooms offers local community groups and organisations the opportunity to use University rooms free-of-charge during evenings and weekends.

Tarek Alshalati is a member of the Edinburgh community who runs evening Arabic classes. For him, having free space meant his group could be more diverse and inclusive: “The University space has allowed us to be able to run the classes on a contribution basis whereby people pay whatever they can afford and sometimes that is nothing at all.”

From 2022 to 2024 the University provided 3,000 hours of room bookings to over 100 local community organisations, saving groups thousands of pounds in room hire costs.

The University has designed spaces like the recently opened Edinburgh Futures Institute and the Usher Building to enable inclusivity, sustainability, and collaboration. Public access areas, events, and outreach programmes ensure that the University's buildings and resources benefit both the University and the wider public.

Access to rooms: Bare Productions rehearsal July 2023. — Bare Productions theatre group using the Community Access to Rooms scheme to rehearse in University of Edinburgh buildings.

13th in the world for environmental sustainability

The University was ranked 13th overall for its environmental sustainability, with particularly high scores for sustainability education and renewable energy generated on campus.

Case study: Shaping new sustainability learning experiences

Launched last year, the Edinburgh Futures Institute’s challenge course ‘Sustainable Development Goals: History, Progress and Beyond 2030’ uses the University as a living lab. The course for undergraduate students aims to develop understanding of the history and trajectory of sustainable development, enabling students to critically evaluate sustainability actions and progress in real-world contexts.

Students work closely with the Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability to evaluate sustainability policies at the University, including the University’s Biodiversity Plan and Community Plan.

Addressing sustainability challenges demands a holistic approach — no single discipline can tackle global issues alone. As we approach the year 2030 (the deadline for the United Nations Sustainable Development goals) this course welcomes a diversity of perspectives contributed by its students and lecturers on the purpose, progress and potential replacement for these goals. It equips students with critical thinking, communication, data-literacy and problem-solving skills with which to apply to sustainable development going forward.

Students and staff wearing red life jackets and coats stand outside laughing and smiling — Students and staff attending a nature-based learning course at Firbush, the University of Edinburgh's outdoor education centre in Perthshire.

Scaling up renewables

This year’s rankings also reflect progress made in the scaling of renewable energy generation on campus, with 234,848 kWh of renewable energy generated during 2022-23. In 2023-24, the University generated 3,948,858 kWh ; a 15-fold increase in just two years. However, decarbonising the University’s estate and associated energy consumption remains a significant challenge.

To drive change, a £17 million, multi-year energy efficiency programme has been launched, involving the installation of LED lighting and control upgrades, laboratory ventilation optimisation, building services insulation and lab equipment upgrades, wastewater heat recovery, and building fabric draught-proofing.

Take action for sustainability and social impact

The University of Edinburgh is currently refreshing its climate strategy and its Community Plan to accelerate action on climate and biodiversity, and to meet the needs of Edinburgh's communities.

In the meantime, the University is continuing to address environmental and social issues through projects like the Forest and Peatland Programme, which will establish several thousand hectares of native woodland and peatland habitats, sequestering over one million tonnes of carbon dioxide over time and creating a haven for plants and animals.

The new Sustainability Framework will embed sustainability in business-as-usual activities across Schools and Departments, and over 5,000 students and staff completed sustainability courses from 2023-2024.

The newly launched Sustainability Rewards app encourages sustainable behaviour and promotes volunteering across our University schools, colleges and departments – with prizes on offer for students and staff making positive change.

There are plenty of ways that our staff and students can take action:

Become a sustainability expert through our training courses

Join the Sustainability Champion’s Network

Be inspired by our Changemakers

Find out about the new Sustainability Framework

About the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability

The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability assess an institution’s commitments to building a sustainable world with emphasis on their influence beyond campus grounds. It evaluates the social and environmental impact of universities as not only centres of education and research, but also as major employers.

Since its first edition, the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability has increased the number of ranked institutions by nearly 150%. In this edition, there are over 350 new institutions ranked, bringing the total number of ranked institutions to 1,744.