University of Helsinki Ranked 18th Globally in Sustainability, Tops World in Health Research Impact

The University of Helsinki was ranked 18th in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025 ranking, which measures the sustainability and environmental impact of universities around the world. The University improved its ranking by 42 places from last year.

The ranking examines university operations through ESG (environmental, social and governance) categories. In other words, the focus is on the universities’ environmental and social impact as well as their administration.

The University of Helsinki ranks first in the world according to the health and wellbeing lens, which assesses both the wellbeing of the University community and the impact of the University’s research more broadly in society. According to the governance category, the University is ranked fourth in the world.

The total number of universities in the ranking is 1,751. In Finland, the University of Helsinki is number one, while in Europe its ranking is 10.

“Such a significant improvement in the ranking reflects the University’s overall commitment to promoting sustainability – from strengthening sustainability research to developing teaching in sustainability and advancing public engagement. While our ranking success is gratifying, it above all encourages us to continue our determined and persevering efforts to promote sustainability and responsibility,” says Vice-Rector Anne Portaankorva.

The ranking includes nine performance lenses, five of which place the University of Helsinki among the top 10. According to the lens for environmental research, focused particularly on research related to the environmental Sustainable Development Goals of the UN, the University is ranked 5th.

The lens for the impact of education, which assesses high-quality research, teaching and the broad distribution of their impact, places the University at 8. According to the lens for knowledge exchange, which examines, among other things, cooperation with developing countries, the University ranks 9th.