Ohio State Ranks High in UN Sustainable Development Goals Progress

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April 25, 2019

The Ohio State University placed in the top echelons of a new global performance ranking for universities’ work toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

According to the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings on those goals, Ohio State was 5th overall in terms of all U.S. institutions and 73rd compared to universities worldwide based on our research, outreach and campus stewardship. Included in the rankings are more than 450 universities worldwide, with 31 in the United States. Times Higher Education, a provider of higher education data for research institutions across the world, also ranked universities on the individual SDGs.

Agreed to by world leaders at a UN Summit in 2015, the 17 SDGs are an ambitious roadmap for the countries of the world to solve some of humanity’s most pressing challenges, such as poverty, health, clean water and energy, climate action, and sustainable cities and communities, in the next 15 years.

Notable Ohio State rankings toward specific goals:

  • Goal 3, Good Health and Well-being: 2nd in the U.S. and 26th in the world
  • Goal 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: 5th in the U.S. and 40th in the world
  • Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities: 4th in the U.S. and 25th in the world

“We are proud to be among the leading universities nationally making a global impact in sustainability,” says Gil Latz, Ohio State vice provost for global strategies and international affairs. “It is incredibly important for Ohio State to be actively engaged in solving the world’s most pressing problems as well as providing diverse opportunities for our students and faculty to participate in global learning and research in the field.”

Sustainability Institute staff are preparing Ohio State’s application to the U.S. chapter of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which will allow the university to collaborate with peers nationally to improve its contributions to the goals. 

“The priorities of the new Sustainability Institute at Ohio State align with several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” says Elena Irwin, faculty director of the institute. “In addition, faculty across Ohio State in many different units and disciplines have been working on these issues for years and are finding solutions.”

UN Sustainable Development Goals