QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025  

78 Indian Universities Feature in 2025 Sustainability Rankings: IIT Delhi Ranked Top

QS Quacquarelli Symonds, global higher education experts, have today released the third edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability.* 

The 2025 rankings showcase over 1,740 universities from 107 countries and territories, reflecting significant growth from the previous edition, which included 1,397 institutions across 95 locations. This marks an impressive increase of more than 1,000 institutions since the inaugural rankings in 2022.

The University of Toronto is the top ranked university this year, ahead of ETH Zurich in second, and Lund University in Sweden and University of California, Berkeley (UCB) in joint third.  President of the world’s number one institution, University of Toronto Meric Gertler said: “On behalf of the University of Toronto, we are thrilled that our university is once again ranked 1st in the world in the QS Sustainability Rankings. The U of T community is profoundly committed to the advancement of sustainability as one of the most urgent challenges of our time. This year’s ranking confirms our resolve to help lead the way to a sustainable future.” 

Executive Summary: India

78 Indian universities feature in the 2025 QS Sustainability rankings, with nine of the top 10 institutions in the country improving their ranking this year. 21 are new to the ranking this year.

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) is top in India for sustainability in 2025, climbing the table by some 255 places to reach position 171 globally.

India in focus: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) are both featured in the global top 100 in the Environmental Impact category, which is worth 45% of the overall score. IITD is placed 55 and IITK is 87 in the category. Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) is also notable, taking the 101^st spot, and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) coming in at 113.

Top 10 Indian institutions in the Environmental Impact category, which includes Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Education and Environmental Research lenses:

Top five Indian institutions in the Environmental Education lens:

Nine Indian universities feature in the Environmental Sustainability lens:

Ben Sowter, Vice President of QS, said: “Of the 78 Indian universities that feature in the 2025 QS Sustainability rankings, 34 have improved on last year’s placing and eight have maintained their positions. This is an excellent achievement for the Indian higher education ecosystem and shows that Indian universities are forging ahead with their sustainability initiatives.”

Manipal Academy of Higher Education – Manipal University (MAHE) is the only Indian institution to feature in the global top 200 in the Governance category, coming in at 176. This is an area where universities could look to improve further, however there are some standout performers, including Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) which leaped 228 places to be ranked 286 this year and Anna University which climbed 356 spots to come in at the improved 322 position.

Within the Social Impact category, Indian universities can look to improve their indicator scores in the Health and Wellbeing, Impact of Education and Equality lenses, where no institutions from the country feature in the top 350. Universities from India scored better in the Knowledge Exchange and Employability and Outcomes lenses.

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) is the top ranked Indian institution in the Social Impact (362) and the Environmental Impact (55) categories. It is also top in two lenses – Employability and Outcomes (116) and Environmental Research (256)

Manipal Academy of Higher Education – Manipal University (MAHE) is the top ranked Indian university in the Governance category. It is also top in India for Equality, ranked at 390 globally

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) is top in the Environmental Sustainability lens, placed at 38 globally

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) is top in India for two lenses – Impact of Education (676) and Health and Wellbeing (391)

University of Delhi is top in India for Knowledge Exchange, coming in at 121 globally

Indian Institute of Science is placed 32rd worldwide in the Environmental Education lens

Sowter continued: “Impact of Education and Health and Wellbeing are two areas where there is room for improvement in the Indian higher education system. However, institutions are already heading in the right direction. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP), Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) all increased their positions by more than 100 places in the Health and Wellbeing lens in 2025.

“Similarly, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) improved its position in the Impact of Education lens by 341 places and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) by 386 places this year. We commend all those Indian institutions that are continuing to develop their sustainability ambitions in this vital area.”

QS’ methodology for the World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025 is based on university performance across three assessment categories:

• Environmental Impact (aggregating three indicators: Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Education and Environmental Research)
• Social Impact (aggregating five indicators: Equality, Knowledge Exchange, Impact of Education, Employability & Outcomes and Health & Wellbeing)
• Governance (considering factors related to good governance: ethics, hiring practices, transparency and decision making)