Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) placed second among participating Davao City schools in the 2026 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, a global assessment of university sustainability performance.

The University ranked 59th out of 130 Philippine universities and 568th out of 1,252 in Asia. Globally, it placed 964th out of 2,016 institutions across 110 countries. This was the 17th edition of the rankings, and the field of 2,016 universities was the participation count reported for the year.

What the rankings measure

Universitas Indonesia began the rankings in 2010 to encourage sustainability in higher education and to give universities a way to compare their progress. Institutions receive scores based on how well they limit their environmental impact and how much they invest in sustainability-focused teaching and research.

This year’s theme is “Advancing Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education: Stories from Our Institutions and Communities.” The rankings encourage universities to accelerate their sustainability efforts and build a shared commitment to sustainable campuses.

Assessment now covers 60 indicators grouped under seven criteria: setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transportation, education and research, and governance and digitalization. Governance and digitalization is the newest of these, introduced in the 2026 cycle. It looks at how well a university’s policies, data, and digital systems work together to make campus management more efficient, transparent, and measurable.

The 2026 results were presented on September 24 at an awards ceremony hosted by Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Looking ahead

The University honors the achievement and reaffirms its commitment to advancing sustainability across its campuses and communities. As the University continues to strengthen its policies in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it looks to build on this result in future ranking cycles.