Western remains among the top universities in the world, leading the way in social and environmental sustainability.
QS (Quacquarelli Symonds Limited) World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025, released this week, positions Western in the top two per cent globally, tied for 30th place in the world and fourth in Canada.
The QS rankings provide a unique and detailed framework to assess how universities are taking action to tackle the world's greatest environmental, social and governance challenges.
This year's ranking is the largest ever, featuring nearly 1,800 universities in more than 100 locations, including 32 institutions in Canada.
"Western places a high priority on sustainability initiatives, which comes through in the international rankings," said Western President Alan Shepard. "We continue to be a national and international leader in this area - placing focus on enhanced education and research that we put into practice on our own campus, in our region and beyond."
Western's global score performance of 94.2 out of 100 underlines the university's ongoing commitment to sustainability, including operations, academics and research projects aligned with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Over the last two years, Western has consistently been a leader in global rankings of universities working toward the SDGs. Times Higher Education 2023 Impact Rankings gave Western a near-perfect score of 95.8 out of 100, ranking the university ninth in the world among more than 1,700 institutions.
Heather Hyde, Western's director of sustainability, said the QS rankings "reflect the collective efforts of our community and shared responsibility for a sustainable future."
"We should all be proud of Western's ongoing commitment to sustainability," Hyde said.
Strengthening engagement: Western's new climate and sustainability strategy
Sustainability is a key pillar in Western's strategic plan, Towards Western 150, and is integrated within many facets of campus including operations, research, teaching and learning.
The campus community is actively working towards a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 (relative to 2005 levels) and, led by the work of Facilities Management, Western has also pledged to achieve net-zero emissions for campus operations by 2050 or sooner. Recent projects include the construction of the Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Western's first net-zero energy building, and improving energy efficiency in the Siebens Drake Research Institute through the Deep Energy Retrofit Program. More than 30 electric vehicle charging stations are available across campus and installation is underway for 40 more.
Western has more than 2,700 academic courses and more than 1,900 research projects that align with the SDGs. The university also hosts programming to explore the targets - and academic approaches to reach them - during SDG Week each March.
Throughout the past year, more than 10 Campus as a Living Lab projects supported learning from the land on which Western stands, including efforts to study the effects of road salt and protect wildlife on campus.
The President's Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability granted more than $400,000 through Western's Sustainable Impact Fund to support the first cohort of projects led by faculty, staff and students. The fund brought more than 25 innovative ideas to life, such as the first-ever Forest City Tree Festival, biodiversity tracking and a recycling program for commonly disposed plastic like snack wrappers. A second round of funding from the successful program is expected in 2025.
Now Western is looking to provide further opportunities for the greater campus community to take part in advancing sustainability, by designing and executing a climate and sustainability strategy.
A campus-wide input survey, which took place between Nov. 1 to Dec. 7, drew 3,400 responses. This feedback will be shared at upcoming engagement sessions, including On Being Bold: Inspiring climate action and sustainability, a panel discussion and campus conversation open to faculty, staff and students, taking place Jan. 20, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Hyde said the strategy, launching next fall, will provide opportunities for everyone to create "ripples of change."
"As we look ahead, the development of our new climate and sustainability strategy will guide us in continuing to advance our efforts, ensuring we meet the challenges of tomorrow with resilience and innovation," Hyde said.
By the numbers: Measuring Western's environmental and social impact
The QS rankings weigh university performance across the following three assessment categories:
- Environmental Impact, which accounts for 45 per cent of the total score. This category combines three indicators: environmental education, environmental research and environmental sustainability. Western ranked 40th overall.
- Social Impact, which also contributes 45 per cent of the overall score. This category encompasses five indicators: employability and opportunities, equality, health and well-being, impact of education and knowledge exchange. Western ranked 48th overall.
- Governance, representing 10 per cent of the overall score. This category focuses on factors related to good governance, including ethics, hiring practices, transparency and decision-making processes. Western ranked 36th overall.
