Bournemouth University Excels in THE Impact Rankings 2024, Places Joint 39th

Bournemouth University has placed joint 39th in the global Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2024.

The Impact Rankings measure the work of universities against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), and BU has ranked joint 39th out of 1,963 universities measured internationally.

Each university receives a score against criteria for each UNSDG to create an overall score, which is then ranked against other participating universities. As well as an overall ranking, universities are awarded rankings by-goal. This year BU has scored highly in:

• SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production – BU ranked joint 1st internationally (up from 6th last year) out of 825 participating institutions, recognising BU’s high recycling rates on campus, academic research and waste data reporting.
• SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth – BU ranked 9th internationally out of 1149 participating institutions, recognising employment practice, student work placements and staff secure contract rate.
• SDG15 Life on Land – BU ranked joint 44th out of 741 institutions with research, action to support local land-based ecosystems and policies to support campus biodiversity all highlighted.
• SDG17 Partnership for the Goals – BU ranked 101-200 out of 2031 institutions recognising wide-ranging partnerships through research, which support the UNSDGs and BU’s work to embed the SDGs into educational curriculums.

Professor John Vinney, Vice-Chancellor of Bournemouth University, said, “The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a useful driver for us in helping us to make sure we’re doing all we can to make the world a better place, and to act sustainably in the work we do. I’m continually proud of our performance in this ranking as it shows that our efforts are working – we will continue to strive to ensure that we make progress in protecting and preserving a sustainable environment now and in the future.”

Lois Betts, Sustainability Manager at BU said, “Our annual report shows the progress we continue to make across all the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Everyone at BU contributes through their teaching, research and actions on campus and beyond. I am particularly pleased to see our world leading performance in SDG 12 Responsible Production and Consumption. This is due to our careful management of waste on campus to avoid landfill and achieve high recycling rates. We work closely with our supply chain partners, and the behaviour of our staff and students makes a big difference in reducing the amount of waste we produce by reusing and avoiding unnecessary purchases where possible.”

The rankings place BU in the top 10 for UK universities included in the rankings, and BU shares 39th place with Kyungpook National University in South Korea and the University of Newcastle in Australia.