The University of Westminster has been recognised as one of the top 15% out of over 1400 universities in the world for its work on contributing to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the newly published Times Higher Education (THE)’s Impact Rankings 2022. This is the third year in a row that the University has maintained its high overall ranking with notable achievements across several individual SDGs.
The THE Impact Rankings are the only global performance table that assesses universities against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since its first submission in 2019, the University of Westminster has been steadily improving its performance in this prestigious league table year on year.
This year, Westminster has successfully held its place in the top 200 universities in the world for delivering these goals even as the number of universities assessed increased from 1115 institutions to 1406 worldwide. Westminster has also increased its overall score by 6% to 85.4, up from 80.8 last year.
The Impact Rankings allowed for institutions to submit evidence for any number of SDGs that each institution wished to submit to. Historically, Westminster has submitted evidence to Good Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequalities, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Partnership for the Goals.
After much operational progress was made over the 2021-22 academic year, Westminster was able to submit to additional SDGs such as Clean and Affordable Energy, Climate Action, Life on Land, and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
For 2022, the University has ranked 29th globally for supporting SDG10: Reduced Inequalities and 77th for SDG5: Gender Equality.
Dain Son Robinson, Sustainable Development Goals Coordinator at the University of Westminster, said: “Both of these fantastic results reflect the University’s strong commitment to achieving Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to create a more welcoming, safe and inclusive University for our students and colleagues and within the wider community.”
Professor Dibyesh Anand and Professor Alex Hughes, Co-chairs of the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee, said: “Work on equality, equity, diversity and inclusion is a critical strategic priority at Westminster, and engages colleagues and students across the University in committed, collaborative endeavour. We are delighted to see the dedicated work reflected in the current rankings. This encourages us to keep striving; recognition matters.”
The University has also increased its global ranking for SDG12: Responsible Production and Consumption and is now ranked 46th for responsible waste management and sustainability reporting.
This continued improvement on last year is demonstrated in additional SDGs that Westminster submitted to including SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing which saw a 63% increase in Westminster’s score, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities with a 9% increase, and SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals with a 22% increase.
Robinson added: “This impressive performance reflects Westminster’s commitment to the SDGs and our values to bring together our collective energies to play our part in addressing the climate crisis and inequalities to enable a more sustainable and socially just world.
“In seven of the eleven SDGs Westminster participated, the University performed in the top 25% of institutions worldwide which confirms the real impact and value Westminster contributes to the world as well as its dedication to improving society in a number of different areas.”
Learn more about the University’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
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