Good Results in THE Impact Rankings for Sustainability

University of Bonn comes top in Germany for SDG 11--Sustainable Cities and Communities

The University of Bonn has performed well in the THE Impact Ranking on sustainab
The University of Bonn has performed well in the THE Impact Ranking on sustainability. - In SDG 11 ’Sustainable Cities and Communities’, it is ranked 1st in Germany. © University of Bonn / Gregor Hübl all’images in original size .
The 2024 edition of the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, which highlight the impact that universities are having on each of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has recognized the University of Bonn’s strong commitment to sustainability in several categories. The University has even secured first place in Germany for SDG 11--Sustainable Cities and Communities.

In a global comparison, the University of Bonn came in 89th for this SDG. With regard to this goal, the compilers of the rankings focus on what universities are doing in their research, teaching and practical initiatives to integrate sustainability into urban development, improve access to basic services and enhance the quality of public spaces. The role that they are playing in the environmental impact of towns and cities and in the creation of a resilient urban environment is also assessed in this respect.

An impressive performance, particularly in research

The University of Bonn also came in the world’s top 200 for another goal, namely SDG 2--Zero Hunger. This category considers research and degree programs that cover the topics of fighting hunger, food sustainability and sustainable agriculture as well as a university’s initiatives for combating food waste and global hunger and widening access to food. The University of Bonn performed particularly well in the research element of this SDG, as it did for SDG 8--Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 16--Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

"We’re especially delighted by our very good result for SDG 11," explains Professor Annette Scheersoi, Vice Rector for Sustainability at the University of Bonn. "And our strong showing in other SDGs-in research in particular-demonstrates that we at the University of Bonn are already on the right track. However, the rankings also provide us with some valuable insights into what issues we need to pay even greater attention to so that we can do even more to bring about a sustainable transformation."

About the rankings

Published by the UK magazine "Times Higher Education" (THE), the THE Impact Rankings are the only global ones of their kind to mark universities against the UN SDGs. This was the second time the University of Bonn had entered, submitting to an evaluation in four of the seventeen categories. To this end, THE assessed a university’s research output on each topic and required them to describe and provide evidence for a number of additional quantitative and qualitative criteria. All 2,152 participating universities from 125 countries enter at least one category. However, the final table is only comparable to 2023’s to a limited extent because this year saw 561 more universities come on board.

for further information on the rankings.

To learn more about sustainability at the University of Bonn, go to https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/uni­versity/ab­out-the-un­iversity/s­ustainable­-universit­y/sustaina­ble-univer­sity?set_l­anguage=en