Purdue ranks No. 5 in Big Ten for sustainability

Purdue University is once again receiving national recognition for campuswide sustainability efforts while improving its global ranking. In the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025, Purdue remained No. 12 in the U.S., unchanged from last year. But Purdue jumped 19 spots globally to No. 74 for sustainability in higher education. Additionally, Purdue ranked No. 5 among its 18 Big Ten peers.

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) is an analytics organization focused on higher education globally. In its annual survey released this month, QS’s sustainability rankings included 237 institutions in the U.S. and 1,743 institutions worldwide. The QS rankings are based on the following categories:

• Environmental impact
  • Environmental education
  • Environmental research
  • Environmental sustainability

• Social impact
  • Employability and outcomes
  • Health and well-being
  • Impact of education
  • Knowledge exchange
• Governance

“Administrative Operations has put a great emphasis on realistic sustainability actions,” said Tony Gillund, director of the Sustainability department within Administrative Operations at Purdue. “That was the goal with establishing the 2020 Physical Facilities Sustainability Master Plan and focusing on efforts to meet the goals outlined in that plan. We are honored to be part of the larger effort here at Purdue that is being recognized by these rankings.”

The 2020 Physical Facilities Sustainability Master Plan outlines actionable and measurable goals for energy, water, materials and waste, buildings and grounds. Some of the plan’s achievements for the West Lafayette campus include completion of the 1869 Tree Planting Master Plan with the planting of 3,738 new trees, additional bicycle paths for alternative transportation, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 27% as of fiscal 2023 — the final reduction as of the end of fiscal 2024 is anticipated to be more than 35%.

Through a partnership with Duke Energy, Purdue is leading a study on SMR and AR technologies aimed at exploring the feasibility of using advanced nuclear technology for powering Purdue’s West Lafayette campus and its surrounding community. An interim report found that SMRs are a potential option to zero carbon emissions for Purdue University and should be further studied. Electricity from nuclear power plants is a carbon-free source of energy that operates continuously 24 hours a day. Additionally, Purdue’s leadership and faculty expertise in nuclear energy research was spotlighted in 2024 when the Indiana Office of Energy Development chose Purdue to lead an initiative exploring the feasibility of SMRs for Indiana.

In the past year, Purdue’s longstanding leadership in nuclear energy technologies research resulted in a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to lead a consortium that will revitalize nuclear research facilities and expand university-led research for small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced reactor (AR) technologies. The group consists of five universities and colleges and two national labs, which will work to upgrade research facilities, increase their capabilities and develop programs to educate the future nuclear energy workforce.

Additionally, other initiatives centered around sustainability are in place at Purdue.

The Institute for a Sustainable Future (ISF) was established in 2022 to build on the strength of Purdue’s research as seen through two Discovery Park centers that merged through its creation: Purdue’s Center for the Environment and the Climate Change Research Center. Both centers supported environmental and sustainability research since Discovery Park’s founding. ISF continues to support over 325 faculty across over 50 departments to advance research, partnerships and engagement in sustainability.

In addition, Purdue offers degree programs and hundreds of courses for students interested in careers in sustainability.

In the 2025 ranking, Purdue improved in several subcategories including its impact of education, which measures the quality of education and research and the impact of those efforts.

Purdue has previously received an AASHE STARS Silver rating and a U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Postsecondary Sustainability Award. Purdue was the first higher education institution in Indiana to be named a Green Ribbon School.