Two Canadian universities place among top 10 in global sustainability rankings

Times Higher Education (THE) has released its 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings, with Queen's University and the University of Alberta both landing in the global top 10.

A university’s overall rank is based on its alignment with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as no poverty, climate action, and gender equality.

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More than 1,600 universities were assessed to create the 2026 rankings, with four broad areas examined to assess sustainability: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.

THE published this list on June 23, 2026.

National rank

In 2026, Canada was the only North American country to place among the global top 10.

A total of 20 Canadian universities made it onto THE’s overall 2026 global ranking, and four were among the top 20:

National rank	University	Top SDG strength	Global rank	Overall score
1	Queen’s University	Sustainable Cities	4	97.5
2	University of Alberta	Industry & Innovation	10	96.0
3	Western University	Industry & Innovation	12	95.9
4	McMaster University	Industry & Innovation	18	95.5
5	University of Victoria	Life on Land	27	94.6
6	Simon Fraser University	Sustainable Cities	52	92.2
7	Université Laval	Climate Action	68	91.0
8	York University	Industry & Innovation	78	90.5
9	Dalhousie University	Life Below Water	90	89.7
10	Lakehead University	No Poverty	101-200	82.3–89.2
11	Toronto Metropolitan University	Responsible Consumption	101-200	82.3–89.2
12	University of Saskatchewan	Industry & Innovation	101-200	82.3–89.2
13	Wilfred Laurier University	Clean Water	101-200	82.3–89.2
14	University of Manitoba	Good Health	201-300	77.5–82.2
15	Carleton University	Industry & Innovation	301-400	73.9–77.4
16	Brock University	Reducing Inequalities	401-600	66.2–73.8
17	Thompson Rivers University	Climate Action	401-600	66.2–73.8
18	Trent University	Life on Land	401-600	66.2–73.8
19	University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC)	Climate Action	601-800	60.7–66.1
20	University of Regina	Decent Work	601-800	60.7–66.1

This year, Queen’s University moved up two ranks, while Alberta fell by two.

The “=” symbol indicates the university tied with another for that rank, having the same overall score based on SDG progression.

Three Canadian universities tied with others:

Simon Fraser University for 52nd place with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Leeds;
Université Laval for 68th place with Hong Kong Baptist University and the University of Galway; and
York University for 78th place with the University of Pretoria.

The global top 10

This year’s sustainability impact rankings saw universities across Canada, Asia, Europe, and Oceania make the top 10 list.

There were two ties in the global top 10, one of which saw the National Taiwan University tie with the University of Alberta for 10th place.

The most common SDG strength among the global top 10 was Industry & Innovation (SDG 9).

Rank	University	Top SDG strength	Overall score
1	University of Manchester	Life on Land	98.5
2	Griffith University	Life Below Water	97.9
3	Western Sydney University	Life on Land	97.8
4	Queen’s University	Sustainable Cities	97.5
5	Universiti Sains Malasia	No Poverty	97.3
6	Hanyang University	Industry & Innovation	96.8
7	Hokkaido University	Industry & Innovation	96.3
7	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia	Sustainable Cities	96.3
9	Institut Agro	Life on Land	96.1
10	National Taiwan University (NTU)	Industry & Innovation	96.0
=10	University of Alberta	Industry & Innovation	96.0

This year’s top 10 list features five universities that made the list in 2025 including both Canadian universities, as well as the University of Manchester, Griffith University, and Western Sydney University.

Last year, the top three educational institutions were (in order) Western Sydney University, the University of Manchester, and Kyungpook National University (KNU).

Notably absent from the 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings are three of Canada's most prominent universities: the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and McGill University.

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Methodology

For the 2026 Sustainability Impact Ratings, THE evaluated a total of 1,646 universities from 116 countries and territories.

The report assessed each university’s progress on the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The “four core pillars of evaluation” used to solidify a university’s rankings:

Research: How universities contribute to the SDGs through academic research in areas linked to sustainability and global development.
Stewardship: How institutions manage their resources, including their facilities, staff, faculty, and students, in ways that support sustainable development.
Outreach: How universities engage with communities and partners beyond campus to promote sustainability at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
Teaching: How universities prepare students to become informed, skilled professionals who can apply sustainability principles in their future careers.

You can find the UN’s 17 SDGs, including the broad indicators attached to each, below:

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals

To be included in these rankings, a university must submit data on SDG 17, and a minimum of three other SDGs.

This is because a university’s overall ranking is determined by combining its SDG 17 score with its three strongest results across the other 16 SDGs.

SDG 17 makes up 22% of the total, while the other SDGs each account for 26%.

SDG 1: no poverty

Research on poverty (27%)
Proportion of students receiving financial aid (27%)
University anti-poverty programmes (23%)
Community anti-poverty programmes (23%)

SDG 2: zero hunger

Research related to hunger (27%)
Campus food waste (15.4%)
Student hunger (19.2%)
Proportion of graduates in food sustainability (19.2%)
National hunger (19.2%)

SDG 3: good health and well-being

Research on health and well-being (27%)
Proportion of health graduates (34.6%)
Collaborations and health services (38.4%)

SDG 4: quality education

Research on early years and lifelong learning education (27%)
Proportion of graduates with a teaching qualification (15.4%)
Lifelong learning measures (26.8%)
Proportion of first-generation students (30.8%)

SDG 5: gender equality

Research on the study of gender equality (27%)
Proportion of first-generation female students (15.4%)
Student access measures (15.4%)
Proportion of senior female academics (15.4%)
Proportion of women receiving degrees (11.5%)
Women’s progress measures (15.3%)

SDG 6: clean water and sanitation

Research on clean water and sanitation (27%)
Water consumption (19%)
Water care (23%)
Water reuse (12%)
Water in the community (19%)

SDG 7: affordable and clean energy

Research on affordable and clean energy (27%)
Clean energy measures (23%)
Energy use (17%)
Energy and the community (23%)
Low-carbon energy use (10%)

SDG 8: decent work and economic growth

Research on economic growth and employment (27%)
Employment practices (19.6%)
Expenditure per employee (15.4%)
Proportion of students taking work placements (19%)
Proportion of employees on secure contracts (19%)

SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure

Research on industry, innovation and infrastructure (11.6%)
Patents (15.4%)
University spin-offs (34.6%)
Research income from industry (38.4%)

SDG 10: reduced inequalities

Research on reduced inequalities (27%)
First-generation students (15.5%)
Students from developing countries (15.5%)
Proportion of students and staff with disabilities (23%)
Measures against discrimination (19%)

SDG 11: sustainable cities and communities

Research on sustainable cities and communities (27%)
Support of arts and heritage (22.6%)
Expenditure on arts and heritage (15.3%)
Sustainable practices (35.1%)

SDG 12: responsible consumption and production

Research on responsible consumption and production (27%)
Operational measures (26.7%)
Proportion of recycled waste (27%)
Publication of a sustainability report (19.3%)

SDG 13: climate action

Research on climate action (27%)
Low-carbon energy use (27%)
Environmental education measures (23%)
Carbon neutrality (23%)

SDG 14: life below water

Research on life below water (27%)
Education related to aquatic ecosystems (15.3%)
Supporting aquatic ecosystems (19.4%)
Water-sensitive waste disposal (19.3%)
Maintaining a local ecosystem (19%)

SDG 15: life on land

Research on life on land (27%)
Education related to land ecosystems (23%)
Supporting land ecosystems through action (27%)
Land-sensitive waste disposal (23%)

SDG 16: peace, justice and strong institutions

Research on peace and justice (27%)
University governance measures (26.6%)
Working with government (23.2%)
Proportion of graduates in law and civil enforcement (23.2%)

SDG 17: partnerships for the goals

Research relating to the SDGs or with lower- or lower-middle-income countries (27.1%)
Relationships to support the goals (18.5%)
Publication of SDG reports (27.2%)
Education on the SDGs (27.2%)

The 2026 rankings mark the eighth edition of THE's Sustainability Impact Ratings, previously known as THE Impact Rankings.

THE is best known for its World University Rankings, also published annually—one of the most widely cited global university rankings systems.

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