We are the only institution in the world to rank in the top ten for social and environmental impact in every year of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings!

The University of Manchester has been named top in both the UK and Europe, and second in the world for meaningful contributions towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings. 

With a unique commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the University is the only institution in the world to rank in the top ten for social and environmental impact in every year of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. 

Our top ranking comes from a record assessment of 2,152 universities from 125 countries and regions, which is 26 per cent increase on last year where 1,705 universities were ranked. This year 72 UK universities participated in the ranking, 11 more than last year (61). 

The ranking, now in its sixth year, is the only one in the world to measure universities’ contributions to the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assess their commitment to sustainability across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

The University came top in the world for SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities. Initiatives supporting this include the Platinum Watermark for Public Engagement, the investment made in four public-facing cultural institutions and Creative Manchester initiative, a commitment to sustainable travel and world-leading research across all three Faculties into the effects of air pollution on health. 

The University was also ranked first in the world for SDG15 – Life on Land. Initiatives supporting this included research by the Manchester Institute for Biotechnology into soil microbial diversity, work to enhance and map our nature on campus and the commitment the University places on sustainable food procurement. 

Other areas where the University was shown to be a world leader include research impact towards SDG9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; the number of patents citing university research; the number of university spin-outs; the quality of the University’s SDG reporting; and on the commitment to educational for sustainable development through the School of Health Science’s free Public Health MOOC and interdisciplinary UCIL course unit on the SDGs.