Best universities

Warnings from environmentalists about the dangers of climate change have become louder and louder over the past few years. If we don’t drastically cut carbon emissions, there will be serious repercussions for the planet.

Many universities are providing great examples of how to combat climate change through pledging to hit zero carbon emissions, refitting buildings to be more energy-efficient and arming students with the knowledge and skills to make individual changes.

Gender equality is one of the key challenges facing society today. It covers many aspects, including pay, employment opportunities and access to education.

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) look to tackle some of today’s biggest global issues, and SDG 5 addresses the issue of gender equality.

Plastic use has become one of the biggest issues of this generation, with bottles, bags, food packaging and straws littering our beaches and clogging up our oceans.

While we have a long way to go to rectify this, there are many things you can do to help preserve the planet. And one of those is holding your university to account and understanding what it’s doing to consume materials responsibly.

First-generation students and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds are still poorly represented in higher education. But universities are working hard to rectify this, and the Sustainability Impact Ratings are an indicator of which institutions are doing this successfully.

Top 100 universities in Asia 2026