Hokkaido University has become the first university in Japan to be ranked within the top 10 in the overall global ranking, out of the 1406 universities that entered the ranking, and 1st in the world in the category of SDG 2: Zero Hunger. The THE Impact Rankings assess universities’ contributions to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Participating universities are evaluated based on submitted data and metrics from external sources.
Out of the 17 SDG targets, Hokkaido University was ranked within the global top 100 in the following categories; SDG 2: Zero Hunger (1st), SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals (12th), SDG 14: Life Below Water (17th), SDG 15: Life on Land (18th), SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (43rd), SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (61st), and SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation (92nd).
Hokkaido University was founded in 1876 as Sapporo Agricultural College, the first modern university in Japan. It has promoted field research on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and related fields against the backdrop of Hokkaido’s rich natural environment. The University has developed and adopted its own sustainability strategies, including the Campus Master Plan (1996), the International Strategy for Sustainable Development (2005), and Sustainability Weeks (2007 to 2016). More recently, the Institute for the Advancement of Sustainability, established in 2021, is responsible for the realization of a green and sustainable campus and the promotion of SDG activities within the University and beyond. The University is also implementing an international sustainability strategy for 2040, aiming to become “a university that contributes to solving global issues.”
“I am very pleased with this result, which I believe is a recognition of the University’s longstanding efforts to achieve the SDGs,” said Hokkaido University President Kiyohiro Houkin. “Hokkaido University was founded in 1876 as the Sapporo Agricultural College, and it has had strengths in food production, field science, and environmental sciences since its inception. We were the first National University to address sustainability by developing a Campus Master Plan in 1996, and we have made a number of progressive efforts toward SDGs since then, culminating in the establishment of the Institute for the Advancement of Sustainability last year. The University will continue to make further efforts to ensure a sustainable society for future generations.”
For details of Hokkaido University’s “THE Impact Ranking 2022,” please click here.
Related links:
Hokkaido University SDGs website