From Baku, UI GreenMetric Announces the 2026 Sustainable University Rankings: 2,016 Universities from More Than 100 Countries Take Part
The global UI GreenMetric 2026 announcement in Azerbaijan marks an important moment to recognize the sustainability achievements of universities from around the world. Four Indonesian universities received global recognition for their sustainability achievements.
Baku, Azerbaijan, 24 September 2026 — UI GreenMetric officially announced the results of the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings (SUR) 2026 at the UI GreenMetric 2026 Results & Awards Ceremony, held at Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Thursday, 24 September 2026. The announcement marked the culmination of the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings 2026 and brought together the global higher education community to recognize universities’ achievements and contributions to sustainable campus development.
For the 2026 edition, UI GreenMetric recorded participation from 2,016 universities across 110 countries.
Global Rankings Announced in Azerbaijan
The announcement of the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings 2026 in Baku featured several award categories. In addition to the global rankings, UI GreenMetric also recognized the 10 universities in Azerbaijan with the highest sustainability performance.
Top 10 Most Sustainable Universities in Azerbaijan
- 1st: Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University
- 2nd: Baku State University
- 3rd: Azerbaijan Technical University
- 4th: Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)
- 5th: Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction
- 6th: Mingachevir State University
- 7th: Baku Slavic University
- 8th: Western Caspian University
- 9th: Baku Higher Oil School
- 10th: Azerbaijan University of Languages
Seven Criteria for Measuring University Sustainability
One of the key components of UI GreenMetric 2026 is the Global Criteria-Based Awards, which recognize universities with the strongest performance across seven sustainability criteria.
The seven criteria are Setting and Infrastructure; Energy and Climate Change; Waste; Water; Transportation; Education and Research; and Governance and Digitalization. Each category recognizes the top three universities globally.
Dr. Abellia Anggi Wardani, S.Hum., M.A., Vice Head of UI GreenMetric, said that the seven UI GreenMetric criteria provide an important basis for measuring and evaluating different aspects of sustainability within higher education institutions, while encouraging universities to continuously improve their performance in an integrated manner.
“The seven UI GreenMetric criteria provide a framework for understanding how universities develop and implement sustainability in a comprehensive manner. Each criterion represents an important aspect of building a sustainable campus ecosystem,” said Dr. Abellia.
Criteria-Based Awards
Setting and Infrastructure- 1st: Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil
- 2nd: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico
- 3rd: Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
- 1st: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- 2nd: Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
- 3rd: University of Turin, Italy
- 1st: Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
- 2nd: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- 3rd: Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil
- 1st: Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
- 2nd: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- 3rd: University of Groningen, Netherlands
- 1st: Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
- 2nd: University of Groningen, Netherlands
- 3rd: Università di Bologna, Italy
- 1st: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- 2nd: University of California, Davis, United States
- 3rd: Università di Bologna, Italy
- 1st: Università di Bologna, Italy
- 2nd: Politecnico di Torino, Italy
- 3rd: Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
From Different Regions Around the World
In addition to the criteria-based awards, UI GreenMetric 2026 also presented Regional Awards to universities with the highest sustainability performance across different regions of the world.
The awards covered Africa; East Asia, Southeast Asia & Oceania; South Asia; Central & Western Asia; Northern Europe, the United Kingdom & Ireland; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Southern Europe; Latin America; and North America.
UI GreenMetric Regional Awards
Africa
- 1st: Alexandria University, Egypt
- 2nd: October 6 University, Egypt
- 3rd: Sohag University, Egypt
- 1st: Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
- 2nd: National Pingtung University of Science & Technology, Chinese Taipei
- 3rd: Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
- 1st: Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India
- 2nd: Mangalore University, India
- 3rd: The University of Lahore, Pakistan
- 1st: Istanbul Technical University, Türkiye
- 2nd: University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- 3rd: Qassim University, Saudi Arabia
- 1st: University College Cork, Ireland
- 2nd: Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
- 3rd: University of Limerick, Ireland
- 1st: Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
- 2nd: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- 3rd: University of Groningen, Netherlands
- 1st: RUDN University, Russia
- 2nd: University of Pécs, Hungary
- 3rd: University of Szeged, Hungary
- 1st: Università di Bologna, Italy
- 2nd: University of Turin, Italy
- 3rd: Politecnico di Torino, Italy
- 1st: Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil
- 2nd: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico
- 3rd: Federal University of Lavras, Brazil
- 1st: University of California, Davis, United States
- 2nd: University of Connecticut, United States
- 3rd: Université de Sherbrooke, Canada
The awards also included recognition for new participating universities and universities demonstrating significant improvements in sustainability performance.
- Best New Participating University: Ural Federal University, Russia
- University with the Greatest Improvement in Sustainability Performance among the Top 100 Universities: Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia
This diversity of awards demonstrates that UI GreenMetric recognizes not only universities’ positions in the overall ranking, but also specific achievements and institutional progress across different dimensions of sustainability.
Awards for Active Participation in the UI GreenMetric Network
UI GreenMetric also recognized universities considered to be the most active participants in the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings (SUR) Network across different regions.
- Africa: 2iE – International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering, Burkina Faso
- East Asia: National Pingtung University of Science & Technology, Chinese Taipei
- Malaysia: Sunway University
- Thailand: Siam University
- South Asia: Grand Asian University Sialkot, Pakistan
- West Asia: Abu Dhabi University, United Arab Emirates
- Tajikistan: International University of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of Tajikistan, Tajikistan
- Türkiye: Yildiz Technical University
- Uzbekistan: Bukhara State University
- Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU)
- Northern Europe, the United Kingdom & Ireland: University College Cork, Ireland
- Russia: RUDN University, Russia
- Hungary: University of Szeged
- Western Europe: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- Southern Europe: Università degli Studi dell'Aquila, Italy
- Colombia: Universidad El Bosque, Colombia
- Venezuela: Universidad Privada Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacín
- Brazil: University of São Paulo (USP)
- Ecuador: Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo
- Mexico: Universidad Panamericana
The Global Top 10 Announcement
The highlight of the UI GreenMetric 2026 Results & Awards Ceremony was the announcement of the Global Top 10 of the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings 2026, led by Dr. Vishnu Juwono, S.E., MIA., Head of UI GreenMetric.
Top 10 Most Sustainable Universities in the World
- 1st: Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
- 2nd: Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences), Germany
- 3rd: Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil
- 4th: University College Cork, Ireland
- 5th: Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
- 6th: University of Groningen, Netherlands
- 7th: University of California, Davis, United States
- 8th: University of Connecticut, United States
- 9th: Università di Bologna, Italy
- 10th: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico
From Indonesia to the Global Stage
The global announcement of the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings 2026 in Azerbaijan was part of a series of activities that had previously taken place in Indonesia. On 15 September 2026, UI GreenMetric held the UI GreenMetric Sustainable University Rankings Indonesia 2026 Results and Awards Ceremony at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta.
The programme then continued at the international level with the global announcement in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 24 September 2026. The UI GreenMetric 2026 series thus connects the recognition of university achievements at the national level with the broader global higher education community.
Written by Iskandar Hamonangan – Communications Coordinator at UI GreenMetric