INRTU topped the ESG ranking of universities in the EAEU countries

The experts of the National Rating Agency (NRA) and ESG Consulting agency have formed two rankings of universities for the EAEU and BRICS countries.

Russian universities are the leaders in the EAEU ranking. The study covers Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Universities from China and South Africa took leading positions in the BRICS ranking.

ESG ranking of universities is a ranking of universities according to the values of the integral index, which combines 45 indicators grouped into five blocks.

Irkutsk national research technical university took the first place in the ranking for the EAEU countries. In second place is the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba. The Don State Technical University rounds out the top three.

It should be noted that in recent years, more and more universities around the world are actively involved in the ESG agenda. A new approach to the concept of "sustainable development in higher education" is being formed. This is a new model of activity of educational institutions that choose an integrated approach in management and selection of economic, social and environmental measures to ensure long-term development and increase the efficiency of the university.

"It is gratifying that the activities of INRTU in implementing educational and scientific initiatives in the field of sustainable development have not gone unnoticed and are highly appreciated by independent experts. Since 2017, the university has been pursuing a systematic policy to transition the university to the model of sustainable development and the introduction of environmental methods and practices, as well as the creation of a comfortable environment at the university, which stimulates all participants of the university community to creative activity. All educational programs include modules related to the ESG-agenda, some focused on the topic of sustainable development. We also use an interdisciplinary approach to develop students' understanding of the principles of sustainable development and their impact on business efficiency, economic and social development. At the same time we take into account the fact that the number of companies working with ESG standards is constantly growing, and accordingly the demand for specialists with such skills is increasing", - said Rector of INRTU Mikhail Korniakov.

It should be noted that the contribution of INRTU to the achievement of sustainable development goals is recognized in two global rankings UI Green Metric and THE Impact Ranking. Thus, in 2017, INRTU was ranked 558th out of 609 universities participating in the Green Metric global ranking, and in 2023 it rose to 162nd position out of 1183 participating universities. This dynamics reflects the real efforts of the university aimed at transformation of educational, research and economic activities in addressing global challenges.

Also, INRTU increased its position inthe Times Higher Education Impact Ranking from 600+ (out of 768 participating universities) in 2020 to a position of 300-400 (out of 1,705 participating universities) in 2023. At the same time, Irkutsk Polytechnic has been a leader in this ranking among Russian universities for a number of sustainable development goals. For example, Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, Goal 7 - Affordable Clean Energy, Goal 14 - Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems and Goal 15 - Conservation of Terrestrial Ecosystems.

According to Mikhail Korniakov, systematic inclusion of ESG knowledge and skills in the education system, organization of educational activities will help to educate a generation of professionals with such a level of creative thinking, which will increase their responsibility for business, management of territories, allow to form a culture of sustainable development, reasonable attitude to natural resources and ecology.

Based on the methodology used for universities of the EAEU countries, a ranking of 14 universities of the BRICS countries was prepared. The leader was Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST, China). The second place was taken by the University of Johannesburg (UJ, South Africa). The University of Cape Town (UCT, South Africa) and City University of Hong Kong (CityU, China) shared the third and fourth positions.

The full version of the study is available on the NRA website.