Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

In consulting about our Aberdeen 2040 strategy, our academic and student community highlighted the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework that should inform our academic and operational sustainability activities.  We are committed to working with the SDGs to help us articulate the positive sustainability impacts of our research and teaching, and to help us prioritise improvements in operational practice. 

Annual Report

Our first Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Annual Report was published in autumn 2021. It showcased research, curriculum, community, and operational initiatives and reflected the breadth of activity happening across the University of Aberdeen with a positive impact on one or more of the SDGs. We intend to report annually on our progress and to work to find new ways to embed the SDGs in everything that we do.

Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

We entered the inaugural Times Higher Education Impact Rankings in 2019 and have participated actively since.  We welcome the increased awareness these rankings have given to the SDGs across the global HE sector.

In the 2024 edition we ranked among the top 50 universities in the world in terms of supporting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals:

  • Out of 1,963 ranked institutions worldwide, the University was placed 48th in the world and 10th in the UK
  • The University was ranked 3rd in the UK for Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG9)
  • Overall, we are in the top quartile for 16 of the 17 SDGs globally, which includes Quality Education, Climate Action, Gender Equality, Reduced Inequalities; and Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG Accord

As part of the formal launch of our Aberdeen 2040 strategy, we signed the global SDG Accord (external site). 

In June 2020, we submitted our first annual SDG Accord Report. That exercise saw us collate examples of activity across all 17 SDGS for the first time, and served as the template for the development of our own stand-along annual SDG Reports - first published in late 2021.

Courses & Programmes

The University of Aberdeen offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and programmes that relate to sustainability and to activities designed to address the Sustainable Development Goals. These include:

Undergraduate Courses

For a full listing of courses relating to sustainability and for courses mapping on to our strategic “sustainability” theme, type the word “sustainable” into the search bar here https://www.abdn.ac.uk/registry/courses/ 

 

Postgraduate Degree Programmes

Biological Sciences

Business, Law and Social Science

Case studies