ELTE is on the podium in the QS sustainability ranking

13.12.2024.

Eötvös Loránd University ranked third in Hungary and placed 351st in the international field comprising more than 1,700 institutions.

In response to the growing importance of environmental protection, following Times Higher Education, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) also launched its own university world ranking based on sustainability criteria (Sustainability Rankings) in 2022. In this year’s evaluation, QS examined universities according to 52 indicators, divided into three large groups: measuring environmental impact (education, research, sustainability aspects), measuring social impact (employability, equality, health and wellbeing, impact on education, knowledge transfer), and university governance. A detailed summary of the survey methodology is available in English at this page.

After previously ranking 700 and then 1,400 institutions, this year’s list features the world’s 1,743 best higher education institutions, including 556 from Europe and 12 from Hungary. Eötvös Loránd University, ranking nearly 100 places lower than last year in the overall list, secured the 351st position, making it the third best Hungarian institution in sustainability after the University of Debrecen (313rd) and the University of Szeged (325th).

Among the three criterion groups examined, ELTE achieved its best result in university governance, ranking 110th; it stands at 417th for environmental impacts and 408th for social impacts. Within Hungarian universities, ELTE ranks first for university governance and social impacts, and third for environmental impacts.

ELTE believes that global problems like climate change require global solutions, but it is equally important for countries and smaller organizations, including universities, to focus their efforts in this area. The university’s Institutional Development Plan places great emphasis on climate protection, and educating for sustainability is a core part of the faculties’ educational portfolio. ELTE strongly supports research on environmental protection and sustainability, and is a founding member of the CHARM-EU European university alliance, whose first master's programme is titled “Global Challenges for Sustainability”. Eötvös Loránd University also participates in the UNI-ECO international cooperation project, in which the University of Montpellier, University of Barcelona, Trinity College Dublin, Utrecht University, as well as the UNIMED university network and the CESIE non-profit organization are working together for more sustainable operations across campuses (reducing water consumption, energy management, sustainable procurement processes, improvement of waste management).

The top three spots on the 2025 QS Sustainability Rankings are held by the University of Toronto, ETH Zurich, and Sweden's Lund University, respectively. Detailed results by geographical area and institution can be browsed on this site, and you can read more about ELTE’s domestic and international ranking results in this summary.