Lancaster University is ranked joint first in the world for Sustainability Governance in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024 released this week, and appears in the top 50 overall.

The new ranking, which includes universities across 95 countries and territories, is designed to showcase universities that are leading the way for social and environmental sustainability.

Overall, Lancaster is positioned joint 44th out of more than 1,400 universities globally, and joint 16th in the UK.

The Sustainability Governance category, which sees Lancaster ranked as the best in the world, measures transparent financial reporting, student representation for sustainability at a senior level, and support and promotion of a holistic and ethical culture.

Lancaster also scored highly in the Equality category, ranking joint seventh in the world and joint fourth in the UK.

Marks in this category were awarded for Lancaster's research towards the equality UN Sustainable Development Goals, its university disability support, EDI policies and student statistics.

Lancaster University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Global (Digital, International and Sustainability) Professor Simon Guy said: "Sustainability is a key strategic priority for Lancaster University – for our research, with our partner campuses, across travel and procurement, through our policies and governance and in our future planning.

"We’re very proud of our commitment to embedding sustainability throughout Lancaster University and for being placed number one globally for governance."

The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2024 table is based on indicators measuring an institution's ability to tackle the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges: environmental impact, social impact and governance.

Lancaster’s 2024 overall position is lower than last year when the University was ranked 26th, but reflects a strong performance given the number of institutions now featured in the rankings has doubled. This year's results place Lancaster in the top 3.5% of universities worldwide, compared to the top 4% in 2022.

To access the full QS Rankings table, visit the QS World University website.