THE Impact Rankings and SDG Performance

University rankings typically centre on academic reputation, research output, and staff-to-student ratios. But Times Higher Education's (THE) Impact Rankings take a different approach — they measure universities' contributions to advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this league table, which compares social impact rather than papers, HKUST stands out conspicuously. This article focuses on HKUST's Impact Rankings performance and the sustainability practices underpinning it, complementing the comprehensive rankings overview^※: that piece covers academic rankings such as QS/THE/ARWU, while this one examines the SDG impact dimension.

---

# 1. 2025: 19th globally, first in Hong Kong and mainland China

According to HKUST's announcement and multiple media outlets, HKUST placed 19th in the world in the THE Impact Rankings 2025, topping all Hong Kong and mainland Chinese universities for the second consecutive year^※. The same report^※ notes that that year's rankings evaluated approximately 2,500 universities globally^※, recognising institutions that advance the UN SDGs.

For a university known for its strengths in science, engineering, and business — and its relative youth — to break into the global top 20 on a league table measuring "social impact", and to hold the top spot in Hong Kong and mainland China for two years running, is telling. It suggests that HKUST's reputation rests not solely on papers and rankings, but also on real, measurable contributions to sustainable development.

Note: The Impact Rankings and QS/THE World University Rankings are different league tables with distinct evaluation dimensions, samples, and methodologies. Their positions cannot be converted or compared across tables. HKUST's 19th place in the Impact Rankings and its QS World University Rankings position (see comprehensive rankings^※) belong to separate systems.

# Scoring mechanism: SDG 17 is mandatory, then the three best SDGs are selected

To grasp the weight of that "global 19th" position, it is worth first understanding the Impact Rankings' distinctive scoring rules. According to THE's official methodology, SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) carries a fixed 22% weight in the total score and is the only SDG mandatorily counted for every participating university; all other SDGs each carry a 26% weighting, and a university's total score is its SDG 17 score plus its best three scores from the remaining 16 SDGs^※. In other words, a university does not need — and indeed cannot — excel across all 17 SDGs. It need only focus deeply on the areas where it is strongest to achieve a competitive total score.

This "one mandatory + three best" mechanism also explains why HKUST can concentrate on SDGs 9, 11, and 15 — areas closely aligned with its disciplinary strengths in science, engineering, and business — without needing to force itself into domains less connected to its academic profile, such as "Zero Hunger" (SDG 2) or "Gender Equality" (SDG 5). Per THE's methodology, scores for each SDG are normalised: the highest score within a given SDG is set to 100 and the lowest to 0, eliminating differences in scoring ranges across sub-categories and ensuring fair comparison regardless of which SDGs a university submits data for^※; at the same time, a university qualifies for the overall ranking as long as it submits data for SDG 17 and at least three other SDGs^※.

Once this "play to your strengths" scoring logic is understood, HKUST's strong performance on SDGs 9, 11, and 15 should be read as a strategic cashing-in of disciplinary advantage, rather than a "covering all bases" fulfilment of social responsibility. This also points to a fundamental difference in evaluative philosophy between the Impact Rankings and traditional academic rankings: the latter reward being comprehensively strong; the former rewards having genuine expertise.

---

# 2. Areas of strength: SDG 9, 11, and 15

The Impact Rankings evaluate universities by individual SDG. According to reports^※, HKUST performed particularly well on the following three:

These three strengths map neatly onto HKUST's disciplinary profile and campus practices:

• SDG 9 (Industry and Innovation) — corresponds to HKUST's strengths in robotics, autonomous driving, deep-tech entrepreneurship, and related fields (see Cheng Kar-Shun Robotics Institute^※, research output and spin-offs^※);
• SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) — corresponds to HKUST's urban resilience research, including the National Key Laboratory of Coastal Urban Climate Resilience (see State Key Laboratories^※);
• SDG 15 (Life on Land) — corresponds to the biodiversity conservation carried out on the Clear Water Bay campus, set amid natural woodland and a coastal bay (see green campus, ecology, and expansion^※).

In short, HKUST's strong Impact Rankings showing is not the accidental result of "teaching to the test"; it is a natural projection of the university's disciplinary configuration and campus practices through the SDG lens.

---

# 3. The sustainable practices underpinning the scores

HKUST's Impact Rankings performance is supported by a series of quantifiable campus sustainability initiatives. According to reports^※:

• In 2019, it launched the HK$50 million "Sustainable Smart Campus as a Living Lab" (SSC) initiative^※;
• In 2020, it installed one of Hong Kong's largest solar power systems, projected to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 1.5 million kg per year over 25 years^※;
• In 2024, it committed HK$40 million to upgrade 30% of its parking spaces with electric vehicle charging capability^※;
• In April 2025, it published Hong Kong's first university-wide "Net-Zero Action Plan", targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2045^※ (see further at green campus^※).

These initiatives embody the "campus as a living lab" concept: HKUST uses its own campus as a testbed for sustainable technologies, reducing carbon while simultaneously generating research and teaching value. According to an HKUST announcement, the SSC initiative has so far incubated over 40 sustainability-related projects, supporting campus members in testing green innovations on campus before scaling them outward for broader SDG impact^※. The figure "over 40" anchors the seemingly broad "Sustainable Smart Campus" rubric in a concrete, traceable project portfolio — though the announcement does not list all 40-plus projects individually, the scale alone indicates that HKUST's investment in campus sustainability is not a scattered pilot but a programme of substantial breadth.

Professor Tam Kar-yan, then Associate Vice-President for Administration at the University, said of this achievement: “This recognition affirms our commitment to integrating sustainability into research, education, and operations.”^※ The statement juxtaposes "rankings" with the three pillars of "research–education–operations", echoing the Impact Rankings' own evaluative logic that looks beyond papers to actual operational practices.

# The project list is not empty rhetoric: five domains and specific cases

The SSC initiative is not merely a ballpark total figure; the official project repository also makes public its categories and individual cases. According to the programme website^※, approved projects are grouped into five domains: Conserving Scarce Resources, Supporting Biodiversity and Ecosystems, Empowering the Community for Positive Change, Embracing Digital Resources for Liveability, and energy- and emissions-reduction projects. Specific examples from the public project repository include:

This list demonstrates that "over 40 projects" is not a statistical padding exercise: it corresponds to an operational toolkit spanning solar energy maintenance, waste treatment, biodiversity, and digital twinning — which is precisely how the "campus as a living lab" philosophy plays out in practice. Feasibility is not first proven in a journal article; it is first proven on campus, with expansion considered only after.

---

# 4. 2026 update: renaming and a comparison of five Hong Kong universities

Short answer: In 2026, THE renamed the "Impact Rankings" to the "Sustainability Impact Ratings". HKUST placed joint 20th globally in the new iteration, a marginal shift from 19th in 2025, but still retained the top spot among Hong Kong institutions for the third consecutive cycle.

According to THE's official announcement, the Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026 evaluated 1,646 universities from 116 countries and territories, measuring progress across the 17 UN SDGs through four pillars — research, stewardship, teaching, and outreach^※ — with the scale adjusted against the circa 2,500 participating institutions in 2025. This edition also introduced a new participation mechanism: universities must first join the "Sustainability Impact Network" as members before undergoing an in-depth performance assessment^※, transforming the ratings from a simple annual ranking into a membership-based evaluation system with a subscription element. According to an analysis by higher education outlet University World News^※, this shift has prompted industry debate about the independence and comparability of the ratings, though the core scoring logic — mandatory SDG 17 plus the three best-performing other SDGs — remains in place.

According to HKUST's official rankings page, HKUST placed 20th globally in the THE Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026, the best-performing university in Hong Kong^※. Media reports indicate that a total of five Hong Kong universities made the global top 100 in these ratings: HKUST at 20th, PolyU at 52nd (up from 56th in 2025), Lingnan University at 63rd, HKBU at 68th, and CUHK at 91st^※.

It is worth noting that City University of Hong Kong, while not in the overall top 100, achieved global 1st place in SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) on its first submission^※ — a revealing counterpoint to HKUST's own strength in SDG 9 (see Section 2). This shows that "Industry and Innovation" is not a lane monopolised by HKUST, but a domain where Hong Kong's science- and technology-oriented universities are broadly competitive. That HKUST continues to lead the overall pack among Hong Kong institutions owes less to an overwhelming advantage in any single SDG than to the combined total produced by stacking strong performances in SDGs 9, 11, and 15 atop a solid SDG 17 base — once again confirming the significance of the "three best" scoring mechanism discussed in Section 1.

One caveat: "global 20th" and the "global 19th" cited in Section 1 belong to different years and different rating titles (Impact Rankings in 2025; Sustainability Impact Ratings in 2026), with adjustments in participation scale and scoring details. The two positions should not be crudely subtracted to imply "dropped one place"; they are best treated as a broad directional indicator.

---

# 5. The Net-Zero Action roadmap: from a 38% reduction to net zero by 2045

Short answer: HKUST's net-zero target proceeds in three phases — against a 2014 baseline of 61,200 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, a 38% reduction had already been achieved by 2023; the interim 2035 target is a 50% reduction (to approximately 30,000 tonnes); full net zero by 2045.

According to the Net-Zero Action Plan official page^※, HKUST's net-zero pathway rests on five strategic pillars: Net-Zero Carbon New Buildings (all new buildings must be designed and operated to net-zero carbon standards), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Investment (a "Campus Renewal Plan" to retrofit existing buildings), Climate Adaptation and Resilience Measures, Net-Zero Research and Talent Development (collaborating with global university networks and developing related educational programmes), and a Cost Recovery Mechanism (reinvesting renewable energy revenues to fund further decarbonisation). This "validate on campus, then scale outward" approach is consistent with the logic of the SSC initiative.

On specific implementation cases, according to HKUST official news^※:

• HKUST plans to install coloured solar panels on Block D residential tower in the 2025/26 academic year — the first application of this technology on an existing residential building in Hong Kong^※;
• The embodied carbon target for the Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building is below 500 kg CO₂ equivalent per square metre — approximately 30% lower than the Hong Kong baseline standard^※;
• The Net-Zero Action Plan is part-funded by feed-in tariff revenues from HKUST's 2.5 MW solar power system, revenues already factored into the HK$30 million investment commitment for the Net-Zero Action Plan^※.

Professor Tam Kar-yan, then Associate Vice-President for Administration, remarked: “Universities play a crucial role in the fight against climate change”^※; Dr Kenneth Leung, Associate Vice-President (Sustainability), stressed that “achieving net zero requires a clear strategy, targets, and a timeline”^※ and highlighted the importance of testing emerging decarbonisation technologies on campus first. This roadmap is also the underlying foundation for HKUST's sustained strong scores in SDGs 9, 11, and 15 — net zero is not a means to a ranking, but the source of the ranking score.

---

# 6. Why the Impact Rankings deserve their own account

Among HKUST's many ranking achievements, the Impact Rankings merit a dedicated account for three reasons:

1. Complementary dimension. They measure "social impact" rather than "academic reputation", providing a counterpoint to traditional rankings and another angle from which to assess a university's value.
2. Tied to practice. Scores in the Impact Rankings correspond directly to quantifiable campus and research practices. Unlike reputation-based indicators, they cannot easily be sustained by "reputational inertia", and thus better reflect what a university actually does.
3. Resonating with the times. With climate change and sustainable development now global priorities, a university's performance on the SDGs is an increasingly important benchmark of its social responsibility.

HKUST's standing on this league table — from 19th globally in 2025 to 20th after the rebranding in 2026 — has spanned a rule change by the ranking body itself, yet the university has remained firmly top in Hong Kong throughout. This stability — a similar position persisting through a change of name and a change of rules — is, in a sense, more revealing than any single year's figure. It suggests that HKUST's investment in sustainability is not a last-minute cram for a particular year's scoring criteria, but has settled into normal, ongoing operations. This chimes with a recurring theme in our comprehensive rankings^※ and five-year deep dive into QS and U.S. News^※: whether measured by academic reputation or by social impact, HKUST's recent ranking story is one of steady consolidation, not fleeting blips.

Note: All years, ranks, evaluation scales, and investment figures cited in this article are as stated in the linked source pages and are time-sensitive. The Sustainability Impact Ratings are published annually; positions and methodologies may change. Please consult the latest official publications from THE and HKUST before citation.

---

# Related reading

• Comprehensive rankings — HKUST^※: A master table of the four major systems (QS/THE/ARWU/U.S. News)
• QS and U.S. News five-year deep dive^※: A year-by-year breakdown and methodology analysis
• HKUST on the "young university" league tables^※: The story of three consecutive THE Young University Rankings crowns
• Green campus, ecology, and expansion^※: Details of the Net-Zero Action Plan and campus ecological practices