University of York ranked among world’s top 2% for sustainability
Posted on Wednesday 19 November 2025
The University was ranked 39th out of more than 1,900 universities, meaning York remains within the top 2% worldwide for its work on environmental and social issues.
In addition, for the third year in a row, the University took the top spot in the Governance category.
Universities were measured on their Environmental Impact, Social Impact, and Governance.
Meaningful progress
Mark Clough, Sustainability Manager at the University, said: “A University needs excellent governance in order to make meaningful progress in sustainability efforts, so to be ranked first in the world shows just how committed we are, and the seriousness in which we take responsibility for the decisions we make in this area.”
The University also performed well in the Knowledge Exchange metric of the rankings, which measures how well institutions share expertise and research with industry, government and the community. York moved up two places this year to 2nd in the world.
York has been working on a range of long-term projects aimed at reducing its environmental impact and supporting sustainability across its campuses. These include:
- Deep Geothermal Energy Project - supported by a £35 million government-funded grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
- Responsible Futures programme - a commitment to embed sustainability in the curriculum and empower our staff and students to take action on the climate and ecological crises.
- Green Impact Lab Accreditation (GILA) - supporting research wet labs to achieve an approved sustainability accreditation as part of the Green Impact scheme.
- Institute for Safe Autonomy (ISA) Net Zero Project - aims to diversify our on-site energy production through installation of solar arrays and acts as a ‘living lab’ where researchers develop AI and robotic systems in renewable energy.
Annual report
The rankings coincide with the University publishing its Sustainability Plan annual report 2024-25. The plan sets out how the institution is responding to the urgent challenges of our time and contributing to a more sustainable world.
It details some of the work from the past year - from new guidance to help researchers embed sustainability in their work, innovative student projects in the Sustainability Clinic and the announcement of the on-campus Deep Geothermal Energy project.
