Sustainable Development Goals

We have been ranked as one of the top institutions in the world for our commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 17 SDGs are a shared blueprint adopted by member states in 2015 to tackle key global challenges including environmental degradation and climate change, gender and economic inequalities and poverty and ill health.

The 2024 THE Impact Rankings table ranks Cardiff University 55^th out of 1963 ranked institutions worldwide.

Cardiff submitted data for 12 of the 17 SDGs, an increase of two from the previous year. The additional SDGs were SDG9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Cardiff has three SDGs ranked in the top 50, compared to four last year:

• SDG14: Life Below Water – 9^th, down from 6^th
• SDG15: Life on Land – 36^th, down from 11^th
• SDG16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – 47th, up from 81st

We are ranked 3rd among higher education institutions in the UK for Life Below Water, 10^th for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and 15^th for Life on Land.

See the full results from The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

Our activities

Our commitment to the SDGs is shown in our activities across all areas of the university. Find out more about some of our work supporting the SDGs.

Read our summary reports to find out more about our work towards the SDGs:

Our team

Our Environmental Sustainability team take the lead in submitting evidence to show how we meet each of the SDGs.