Wageningen maintains status as world's greenest university

Each year, UI uses surveys and a panel of experts to determine how universities around the world rank in categories ranging from energy and climate to waste & recycling, transport and water. The ranking also takes into account the design and infrastructure of the campuses. WUR scored 100% in the sustainable education category and in the categories waste and water.

In the 2018 ranking, WUR enjoyed a considerable lead over the second-place and third-place finalists (the University of Nottingham and the University of California Davis, respectively). The University of Groningen was the second Dutch university to make the top ten list, rising four places this year to number seven.

Arthur Mol, Rector Magnificus of Wageningen University & Research, was extremely pleased with the first-place finish: "It proves that we're on the right track when it comes to implementing sustainable education, research and business practices," he says.

"Maintaining our first-place position is exciting," says Erna Maters, the social responsibility policy officer tasked with completing the GreenMetric survey. "This suggests that sustainability is becoming second nature at Wageningen University. While we are certainly on the right track, WUR will focus on several important themes in the coming years, such as energy transition and increasingly sustainable transport."

A total of 719 universities in 81 countries participated in UI’s GreenMetric World University Ranking.