A Comparative Analysis between Global University Rankings and Environmental Sustainability of Universities

Global University Rankings (GURs) intend to measure the performance of universities worldwide. Other rankings have recently appeared that evaluate the creation of environmental policies in universities, e.g., the Universitas Indonesia (UI) GreenMetric. This work aims to analyze the interaction betwe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2020-07, Vol.12 (14), p.5759
Main Authors: Muñoz-Suárez, Manuel, Guadalajara, Natividad, Osca, José M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bibliometrics
Citation indexes
Climate change
College campuses
Comparative analysis
Environmental indicators
Environmental management
Environmental policy
Geographical distribution
Geographical locations
Higher education
Ranking
Ratings & rankings
Regression analysis
Reputations
Social responsibility
Statistical analysis
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Webometrics
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Summary:Global University Rankings (GURs) intend to measure the performance of universities worldwide. Other rankings have recently appeared that evaluate the creation of environmental policies in universities, e.g., the Universitas Indonesia (UI) GreenMetric. This work aims to analyze the interaction between the Top 500 of such rankings by considering the geographical location of universities and their typologies. A descriptive analysis and a statistical logistical regression analysis were carried out. The former demonstrated that European and North American universities predominated the Top 500 of GURs, while Asian universities did so in the Top 500 of the UI GreenMetric ranking, followed by European universities. Older universities predominated the Top 500 of GURs, while younger ones did so in the Top 500 of the UI GreenMetric ranking. The second analysis demonstrated that although Latin American universities were barely present in the Top 500 of GURs, the probability of them appearing in the Top 500 of the UI GreenMetric ranking was 5-fold. We conclude that a low association exists between universities’ academic performance and their commitment to the natural environment in the heart of their institutions. It would be advisable for GURs to include environmental indicators to promote sustainability at universities and to contribute to climate change.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su12145759