NJIT Ranks in Top 100 Globally for 3 UN Sustainable Development Goals

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has achieved global recognition for its commitment to sustainability, ranking in the top 100 for three key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Times Higher Education 2024 Impact Rankings. Additionally, NJIT secured a spot in the top 200 overall for universities worldwide.

The university earned top 100 placements in SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. These achievements highlight NJIT’s ongoing dedication to advancing solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges through research, education and community involvement.

Notably, SDG 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumer and Production Patterns saw the most significant improvement since 2020, which focuses on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns to preserve resources for future generations.

The SDGs, established by the United Nations, are a blueprint for addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. NJIT’s involvement in these goals highlights the university's role in creating a sustainable future for both local communities and the world at large.

"Our community at NJIT serves as a great inspiration to so many of us and we continue to collectively address these challenges face on," said Prabhakar Shrestha, assistant director of sustainability at NJIT. "Our door is always open to ideas and we encourage everyone in our community to participate in developing new initiatives. It's part of our pursuit to create a culture of faculty, staff and students who are socially, economically and environmentally responsible."

Echoing the Times Higher Education rankings, NJIT was featured in The Princeton Review’s 2024 Guide to Green Colleges for the third consecutive year, achieving a green rating of 93. This recognition stems from the university's efforts in sustainability-focused programs, including offering sustainability degrees, car-sharing initiatives, and greenhouse gas emission tracking.

NJIT reports annually on its progress toward the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and continuously seeks to ensure that its students graduate as global citizens equipped to tackle sustainability challenges.

Sustainability is a core pillar, as well as an Institutional Learning Goal, in NJIT’s 2030 Strategic Plan. “At NJIT, we are committed to addressing the complex challenges of sustainability through innovation and education,” said President Teik C. Lim. “Our top 100 placements across several SDGs reflect the hard work of our faculty, students and partners in pursuing inventions and innovations for sustainable development.”

For more details on NJIT’s sustainability initiatives, you can read the full 2024 report.