University of Newcastle: Sustainability Remains Key for University

University of Newcastle’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic Excellence, Jennifer Milam explained there were several areas where the university ranked highly.

“We’re incredibly proud that our university is making a positive difference to our region and the world and the results from the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings show that we continue to lead both in Australia and internationally for sustainability.

“In Australia we ranked in the top five in the country for 13 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which is a fantastic achievement, including ranking No 1 in Australia for SDG2 Zero Hunger and SDG17 Partnerships for the Goals. Globally, we are also recognised as one of the best achieving universities, ranking in the top 30 in the world.

“We know that initiatives like introducing 100% renewable energy and committing to being carbon neutral by 2025 have strongly resonated with our students and with our communities.

“We include sustainability principles in our values, research, teaching and the facilities we provide, and these results show how widely ingrained these principles are in all areas of our work.”

The University ranked in the top 50 for ten of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including ranking 4th in the world for Partnership for the Goals (SDG17), 12th in the world for Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG3) and 16th for Climate Action (SDG13) and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG7).

The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings are released annually and provide a global ranking based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were developed by the United Nations. The SDGs are a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future.

The Impact Rankings are the first global attempt to measure university progress specifically around the SDGs and the rankings include both an overall rank and a rank for each of the 17 individual goals.