24 French schools in the new QS sustainability ranking

More than 1,300 higher education institutions were assessed by QS and only 700 were selected for the ranking. To be eligible for this selection, chosen institutions had to face two major challenges: commitment to mitigating the climate crisis and evidence of a “research culture” in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as listed by the UN.

Five French institutions in the Top 200 of the general ranking

The QS World University Rankings Sustainability offers students “a unique perspective” on institutions that “prove their commitment to a more sustainable existence”. This is the aim of this ranking, in which the United States is unsurprisingly at the forefront with around one hundred universities ranked. France has no fewer than 24 institutions ranked, the fourth highest number in Europe.

In the first edition of this new ranking, five French institutions are even ranked in the Top 200. These are Université PSL (126th), Université Paris-Saclay (135th), Sorbonne Université (144th), Aix-Marseille Université and the Institut polytechnique de Paris (both in the 192-200 category).

Criteria that provide another point of view on the overall ranking

The results are nevertheless a bit different if we look at the way the ranking is set. It is determined by the sum of their scores in two categories, each of which accounts for 50% of the final score. These two categories measure two forms of impact:

• environmental impact measured by three indicators: sustainable institutions (17.5%), sustainable education (20%) and sustainable research (12.5%);
• social impact measured by five other indicators: equality (15%), knowledge exchange (10%), educational impact (10%), employability (10%) and quality of life (5%).

Three French universities in the top five

As QS points out, French universities lead the knowledge exchange indicator. Three French universities are in the top five in the world for this measure: Université Paris-Cité, Université PSL and Sorbonne Université. Université Paris-Saclay and Université de Montpellier also score highly in this category.

Finally, QS stresses the reasons for producing this type of ranking, by noting that “rankings can provide a useful starting point for understanding how environmentally and socially conscious a university is”.