Top global rankings highlight Virginia Tech’s commitment to sustainability
The university ranked in the top 100 overall out of more than 1,400 worldwide institutions because of its efforts related to food waste, climate action, clean water, and more.
After making its debut in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings a year ago, Virginia Tech found itself ranked in the top 100 overall out of more than 1,400 institutions across the world in the 2022 Impact Rankings that were released late last week.
The Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The THE rankings use calibrated indicators to compare universities across four areas: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching.
Virginia Tech received an overall impact ranking of No. 98 out of 1,406 universities spanning 106 countries.
“As we advance as a global research university, it is important to be good stewards of our resources and knowledge,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said. “This ranking is especially relevant to us because it measures the impact we have on the well-being of our students, our communities, and the world around us.”
The university garnered high marks in seven categories, with a top ranking of No. 19 out of 604 universities globally in the category of responsible consumption and production. This category measures universities’ research on responsible consumption and each’s approach to the sustainable use of resources.
Virginia Tech also earned a high ranking in the category of zero hunger (No. 36 out of 553), a category that considers a university’s research on hunger, their teaching of food sustainability, a commitment to tackling food waste, and a commitment to addressing hunger on campus and locally. The school’s Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation helped with the high ranking in this category.
Other top marks for Virginia Tech came in the categories of sustainable cities (No. 56 out of 783), climate action (No. 59 out of 674), clean water (No. 66 out of 634), reduced inequalities (No. 67 out of 796), and life on land (No. 87 out of 521).
"These measures are positive indicators of our ability to come together as an institution to achieve our vision of being a comprehensive land-grant university that can have an impact on a global scale," Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke said. "They reflect the commitment of our students, faculty, and staff to community, service, and improving the human condition. As we celebrate this recognition, Virginia Tech will continue to focus on creating new opportunities to serve our global community and change the world around us."
Virginia Tech’s Climate Action Commitment, which serves as its guiding framework for sustainability and energy efficiency in campus operations; the Berkeley/China/Virginia Tech Program for Water and Health; Virginia Cooperative Extension outreach programs around water quality; the school’s Conservation Management Institute; the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program; and both Office for Inclusion and Diversity and Office for Equity and Accessibility initiatives serve as examples of the university’s commitment to sustainability and played roles in the school’s high rankings.
More information about Virginia Tech’s rankings can be found online.
