THE UNIVERSITY earned a spot for the first time in the 2024 Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) World University Sustainability Rankings, which measured schools’ capability to address environmental, social and governance challenges.
UST placed in the 1,001-1,050 bracket globally in the second QS sustainability rankings released on Dec. 5 (Philippine time), ranking it fourth among Philippine schools.
It got its highest rank in the governance criteria, notching the 583rd spot among 1,397 ranked institutions.
UST landed in the 1,001+ place in both the environmental and social impacts criteria.
Five Philippine universities earned spots in the 2024 QS tally, three of which entered the rankings for the first time.
The University of the Philippines maintained its spot as the top Philippine university in the sustainability rankings, climbing to 231st place from the 401-450 bracket in the 2023 edition.
It was followed by Ateneo de Manila University, which entered the rankings for the first time at 593rd.
De La Salle University slipped to No. 3 among Philippine schools in the latest tally after falling to the 981-1,000 bracket from 601+ last year.
Mapua University (12,01+) joined the QS sustainability rankings for the first time to complete the list of Philippine institutions.
The University of Toronto was the top sustainable university globally in the 2024 tally, improving from its No. 2 place last year.
Almost 1,400 schools ranked by the QS came from 95 countries across the world, twice the number of participating institutions in the 2023 edition.
First launched in 2022, the QS World University Sustainability Ranking assessed the performance of universities using three criteria: social impact (45 percent), environmental impact (45 percent) and governance (10 percent).
The social impact criterion included five indicators: equality, knowledge exchange, impact of education, employability & outcomes, and health & wellbeing.
Meanwhile, the environmental impact criterion is comprised of three indicators: environmental sustainability, environmental education and environment research.
The governance criterion, which was introduced in the recent rankings, assessed universities based on ethics, hiring practices, transparency and decision-making.
