The University of Toronto (U of T) has been ranked the most sustainable university in the world for the second year in a row.
The Sustainability 2025 report from QS World University Rankings gave U of T the number one spot, out of more than 1,700 institutions. The school ranked just above ETH Zurich and the University of California, Berkeley.
U of T — which has campuses downtown, as well as in Scarborough and Mississauga — earned a mark of 91 per cent for environmental sustainability, 99.7 percent for environmental education and 98.5 per cent for environmental research.
Other top Canadian schools were the University of British Columbia, which tied for fifth spot, and McGill University in Montreal, which tied for 15th.
U of T is in the midst of several climate initiatives, including a $138-million infrastructure project to cut emissions in half on the St. George campus by 2027.
The school has pledged to go beyond reaching carbon neutrality, or "net zero," when it comes to its greenhouse gas emissions. The school had earlier committed to making the St. George campus climate positive by 2050 — a mark the university says it will reach well before that time.
“The U of T community is profoundly committed to the advancement of sustainability as one of the most urgent challenges of our time," U of T president Meric Gertler said in a press release.
“This year’s ranking confirms our resolve to help lead the way to a sustainable future.”
The recognition follows student protests against the institution's investment in fossil fuels, which have played a part in U of T's pledge to divest all of its endowment funds from the fossil fuel industry by the end of the decade.
Last year, a group of students camped out in a campus building and said they would not leave until the school committed to a timeline for divesting from fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. More than 200 students joined the occupation of the “Old Vic” building, on the downtown campus.
In 2021, the university said it would end all direct investments in the oil industry immediately and phase out indirect investments held in pooled funds over the next 10 years.
