The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a roadmap for how we can work together to create a better environment for the people and our planet. Queen’s University is continuing to build on advancing the SDGs within our communities to solve the world’s most significant challenges – from climate change to food insecurity and affordable healthcare.

Queen’s has released the latest social impact report providing a snapshot of activities and initiatives across the university that are working towards the UN SDGs. A key focus of the 2022-2023 report was recognizing the efforts made by Queen’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni in confronting climate change, building more inclusive societies, and ensuring equal access to health care and quality education to advance social impact.

In 2023, these efforts towards advancing the SDGs locally, nationally, and globally were recognized in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. For the third year in a row, Queen’s has been ranked among the top 10 universities globally in the THE Impact Rankings. Queen’s placed third worldwide and first in North America out of more than 1,700 universities in 115 countries.

Moreover, the university has been ranked 1^st in the world for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), 2^nd for SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and 7^th for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). A few initiatives that support this progress include the Major Access Awards offering transformative financial aid for our highest-need applicants, PhD-Community Initiative which brings together Queen’s PhD students and local community organizations to help them address a particular issue of importance to them, and our support in accelerating the growth of local entrepreneurship through programs offered by Queen’s Partnerships and Innovation and the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre.

To learn more about Queen’s commitment to the SDGs and to read the report, visit the Advancing Social Impact website.