THE UNIVERSITY kept its position as the No. 4 school in the Philippines in the Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) World University Sustainability Rankings, which measured schools’ capability to address environmental, social, and governance challenges.
In the 2025 edition of the rankings released on Dec. 10, UST retained its country rank despite slipping to the 1,041-1,060 bracket worldwide from the 1,001-1,050 range last year.
UST again achieved its highest rank in the governance criterion despite dropping to 670th overall from 583rd last year. This category assesses factors concerning good governance such as ethics, hiring practices, transparency, and decision-making.
It maintained its 1,001+ standing in the social impact criterion, which deals with equality, knowledge exchange, impact of education, employability, and opportunities and well-being.
UST also landed in the 1,001+ range in the environmental impact indicator, which takes into account the environmental sustainability, environmental education, and environmental research of a school.
Four other Philippine schools were listed in the latest rankings, with three of them seeing an improvement in their global placements.
The University of the Philippines remained the top Philippine school despite dropping to 333rd place from 231st in the 2024 edition. Ateneo de Manila University followed at 503rd globally, up from 593rd last year.
Meanwhile, De La Salle University climbed to the 911-920 bracket from the 981-1,000 bracket. Mapua University rose to the 1,141-1,160 bracket from the 1,201+ range it landed in last year.
A total of 1,743 schools across 107 countries earned spots in the 2025 QS World Sustainability Rankings, an increase from the 1,400 in the previous edition.
The University of Toronto remained the top sustainable university globally. The ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology overtook the University of California, Berkeley as the No. 2 school.
The 2025 QS World University Sustainability Rankings assessed the performance of universities using three criteria: social impact (45%), environmental impact (45%), and governance (10%).
