In its THE Impact Rankings, the renowned British magazine Times Higher Education conducts an annual assessment of universities’ activities based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the United Nations. The rankings evaluate the extent to which universities contribute to these goals – for example, through research projects, collaborations with industry, degree programmes or sustainable campus measures.
In the latest rankings, Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) achieved the best result Germany-wide in the individual category "SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation". Internationally, it achieved an outstanding rank of 66 out of the 857 institutions assessed in this category. LUH also achieved an excellent result in the second area in which it competed: "SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy". Here it placed in the group ranked 101–200 out of a total of 987 universities.
THE University Impact Rankings offer the opportunity to take part in the overall rankings or – like LUH – the rankings for selected SDGs. The complete THE Impact Rankings are available here: www.timeshighereducation.com/impactrankings
Clean water and sanitary facilities
Research on issues such as water scarcity or the risk of flooding is an important indicator for the assessment of activities related to the Sustainable Development Goal “Clean Water and Sanitation”. A highlight at LUH was the opening of the expanded wave current flume in June 2023, which is home to the world’s largest wave machine and will provide new input for research. The water for the wave flume is drawn from the nearby Mittelland canal. LUH has implemented improvements in water supply and wastewater management in other construction projects as well: In May 2024, a green roof was completed at the Herrenhausen Campus. And as part of the construction of the Leibniz School of Education, a diversion system was installed to enable rainwater to seep into the ground at the property. In fall 2023, a lecture series was held on SDG 6, and LUH scientists presented current research findings on the topic of water to the public. The research magazine also focused on the issue of water.
Affordable and clean energy
LUH is also a strong performer in the area of “affordable and clean energy”: For example, thanks to employee and student efforts, the university was able to reduce its energy use in response to the energy crisis. Numerous photovoltaic systems were also planned and completed during the ranking period. The Integrated Climate Protection Concept, published at the beginning of 2023, contains a comprehensive catalogue of measures for the renovation and optimisation of buildings and technical equipment in order to improve energy efficiency. Additionally, LUH is a strong player in research in this field: As of 2024, energy research is one of its key research areas. Research on a sustainable energy supply is also bundled at the Leibniz Research Centre Energy 2050 (LiFE 2050) and connects roughly 30 institutes, across the faculties, at the university. Approximately 300 scientists at LUH are conducting research on projects and solutions for the transformation of the energy system.
Additional information about current sustainability-related measures at LUH is available from the Green Office: https://www.sustainability.uni-hannover.de/
