The University of Alberta ranks among the world’s Top 75 universities leading the way in environmental and social impact, according to the 2026 QS sustainability rankings released this week.
The U of A tied for 74th place globally — placing it in the top four per cent of the nearly 2,000 universities included in the rankings — and ranked eighth in Canada.
The QS sustainability rankings assess universities’ performance through three categories related to their environmental impact, social impact and governance.
The U of A’s best results were in the environmental impact category, with its environmental research ranking 25th in the world and environmental education coming in at 31st.
Sweden’s Lund University topped this year’s sustainability rankings, followed by the highest-ranking Canadian institution, the University of Toronto.
The QS Sustainability Rankings were launched in 2022 and have grown from 700 participating universities in 2023 to more than 2,000 in the 2026 rankings.
The U of A’s strong showing in the QS sustainability rankings follows an exceptional performance in Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings released in June, which ranked the university eighth worldwide and second in Canada for its impact toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.