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QS Sustainability: the university’s positioning and the methodology

The University of Bologna's ranking in terms of sustainability and social and environmental impact.

Results of the 2025 ranking at a glance

  • 177th globally
  • 3rd nationally

 

Methodology

Indicators and number of universities analysed

This year, a total of 1744 universities were evaluated, 52 of them being Italian. The final ranking of each university is determined by 18 indicators, distributed among three sections with varying percentage weights: Environmental Impact, Social Impact, and Governance.

Environmental Impact (45% weight):

  • sustainable environment: e.g., carbon footprint, zero-emission policy (15% weight);
  • environmental education: degree programmes on sustainability, research centres on climate change (17% weight);
  • environmental research: publications selected according to UN objectives criteria (13% weight).

Social Impact (45% weight):

  • equality: e.g., the percentage of female students and researchers (12% weight);
  • knowledge exchange: collaboration with international institutions (10% weight);
  • educational impact: e.g., alumni impact on social institutions (7% weight);
  • employability and opportunities: considering outcomes from employer reputation surveys (11% weight);
  • quality of life: university commitment to the health and well-being of students, faculty, and administrative staff (5% weight).

Governance (10% weight):

  • ethical culture: e.g., the presence of an ethics committee within the university (1% weight);
  • open access publications: e.g., the presence of a university-wide Open Access policy (1% weight);
  • dedicated staff for sustainable development (1% weight);
  • transparent financial reporting: e.g., publication of university budgets online (1% weight);
  • recognition of student associations (1% weight);
  • student representation in university governance: e.g., student presence in the Academic Senate (1% weight);
  • publication of Senate and Board of Directors resolutions online (1% weight);
  • signing of the United Nations Charter against torture (1% weight);
  • staff perception: e.g., Customer Satisfaction regarding staff (1% weight);
  • citations policy: reference to publications and citations in Scopus related to SDG 16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions (1% weight).