University of Groningen climbs to gold in sustainability rankings

The University of Groningen has leapt up the list of the most sustainable institutions of higher education in the Netherlands, the SustainaBul. It now takes fourth place after Wageningen University, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and VU University Amsterdam. Last year it came eighth. It is now the third research university in the list, and wins gold status.

Alongside the SustainaBul, a prize was awarded this year for the most iconic sustainability project. The University of Groningen took third here with its design for the Energy Academy Europe.

Dick Jager, project manager for sustainability, is delighted with the results. ‘We invested a lot in sustainability at the University of Groningen last year. Setting up the Green Office definitely helped. It has a great team that puts its heart and soul into making our university sustainable. These results are a reward for all their hard work. You can see that we have a particularly good score for administration. I also think that staff awareness has dramatically improved.’

Full results

The results of the SustainaBul were announced on Friday 29 May at the SustainaBul Experience at Leiden University of Applied Sciences. For the full results see the Studenten voor Morgen website:
SustainaBul 2015
Most iconic sustainability project

What is the SustainaBul?

The SustainaBul is the ranking of the most sustainable Dutch research universities and universities of applied sciences, and is the initiative of Studenten voor Morgen. It was launched in 2012, and has since been awarded in spring each year. Institutions of higher education are assessed on the integration of sustainability in their teaching, research and administration. The ranking focuses not only on sustainability but also on transparency and communication about sustainability. Institutions must therefore prove to Studenten voor Morgen how sustainable they are. What is unique about the SustainaBul is that the ranking is drawn up by students rather than a professional organization. New information is used each year to keep the universities on their toes and ensure they continue to make progress.

University of Groningen in global top 50

Not only does the University of Groningen have a good score for sustainability in the Netherlands, but it also performs well globally. It is now number 44 in the list of most environmentally sustainable universities in the world . Alongside Groningen, Eindhoven University of Technology (18) and Wageningen University (41) are also on the list.