The UI GreenMetric World University Ranking is an initiative of Universitas Indonesia which is being launched in 2010. As part of its strategy of raising its international standing, the University hosted an International Conference on World University Rankings on 16 April 2009. It invited a number of experts on world university rankings. We were aware that a number of top world universities, for example Harvard, Chicago, Copenhagen have been taking steps to manage and improve their sustainability. There are also cooperative efforts among groups of universities. A grading system which includes information on sustainability at 300 universities exists under the title the United States Green Report Card. This is excellent, however, results are given in terms of a grade (A to F) rather than a ranking and the number of universities included is relatively circumscribed. We saw the need for a uniform system that would be suitable to attract the support of thousands of the world’s universities and where the results were based on a numerical score that would allow ranking so that quick comparisons could be made among them on the criteria of their commitment to addressing the problems of sustainability and environmental impact.
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSITIES
BERKELEY : The UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability and Energy provides leadership to campus by setting ambitious sustainability goals and strategies and by accelerating the achievement of these goals through project implementation, planning, partnerships, and community engagement. The mission is to integrate cutting-edge sustainability practices into operations, foster the culture of sustainability at home and in the world, and enable and improve excellence in sustainability. The Office works to achieve climate neutrality and strive for excellence in breadth and depth by implementing bright green initiatives to reduce our ecological footprint, raising awareness and reducing energy use with Talking Louder and myPower campaigns, and emphasizing transparency and accountability through our plans and reports.
BOSTON : Boston University’s Sustainability Program comprises a broad range of stakeholder groups on campus to provide the greatest diversity of representation and opinion. The program is made up of sustainability@BU, Dining Services Sustainability, and the Sustainability Committee including the Sustainability Steering Committee and four working groups: Recycling and Waste Management, Energy Conservation, Sustainable Building and Facility Operations, and Communications and Outreach.