Table 1. Outline of key certified... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

Outline of key certified ranking frameworks for sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs)

Scope	Limitations	References
QS world university rankings: Sustainability
Link to topuniversitiesLink to the cited article.
Globally influential, the sustainability raking was only recently launched (2022). Monitored closely by university administrators, industrial leaders, politicians and ministry officials. It applies 52 indicators across the three key sustainability aspects: environmental impact, social impact and governance	Most indicators have a percentage weight between 1 and 3%, with important exceptions such as academic reputation (10%) and research impact on SDGs (9%), potentially biasing rankings towards larger and more established institutions	Aguillo et al., 2010; Hazelkorn, 2015; Marginson, 2014; Marginson and van der Wende, 2007
Sustainability tracking, assessment and rating system (STARS)
Link to Stars.aashelink to the cited article.
Globally recognised. Measures sustainability across 186 indicators through a point scoring system for the following aspects: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration and innovation and leadership. It was launched in 2010	Requires a vast amount of data collection to provide high ratings. This can put smaller universities at a disadvantage as they might not have the resources to achieve their desired rating	AASHE, 2024; Alghamdi et al., 2017
Times higher education (the) impact rankings
Link to timeshighereducationLink to the cited article.
Globally influential, but the sustainability element was only launched in 2019. Monitored closely by university administrators, industrial leaders, politicians and ministry officials. It measures global universities’ success in delivering the SDGs, against 247 indicators aligned with the SDGs around the following aspects: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching	The total score is calculated by combining the SDG 17 score (which includes 27 indicators and accounts for 22% of the total score) with its best three results on the remaining 16 SDGs (each accounting for 26%; number of indicators varies from 4–19 depending on the SDG). Thus, universities are scored based on a different set of SDGs, depending on their focus	Marginson and van der Wende, 2007; Hazelkorn, 2015
Universitas Indonesia GreenMetric (GM)
Link to greenmetricLink to the cited article.
Mostly applied in Asia but also in Europe and the United States. Measures campus sustainability efforts using an online survey with 39 indicators that capture 6 criteria: setting and infrastructure; energy and climate change; waste; water; transportation; and education and research. It was launched in 2010	A point system is applied to indicators and a weighting to the criteria. The data are submitted to the organisation who then establish the ranking. Uncertainties on the evaluation process of applications and the precise effects of individual categories on the overall results, especially the geographical aspects	Lauder et al., 2015; UI GreenMetric, 2023

Scope	Limitations	References
QS world university rankings: Sustainability
Link to the cited article.
Globally influential, the sustainability raking was only recently launched (2022). Monitored closely by university administrators, industrial leaders, politicians and ministry officials. It applies 52 indicators across the three key sustainability aspects: environmental impact, social impact and governance	Most indicators have a percentage weight between 1 and 3%, with important exceptions such as academic reputation (10%) and research impact on SDGs (9%), potentially biasing rankings towards larger and more established institutions	Aguillo et al., 2010; Hazelkorn, 2015; Marginson, 2014; Marginson and van der Wende, 2007
Sustainability tracking, assessment and rating system (STARS)
link to the cited article.
Globally recognised. Measures sustainability across 186 indicators through a point scoring system for the following aspects: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration and innovation and leadership. It was launched in 2010	Requires a vast amount of data collection to provide high ratings. This can put smaller universities at a disadvantage as they might not have the resources to achieve their desired rating	AASHE, 2024; Alghamdi et al., 2017
Times higher education (the) impact rankings
Link to the cited article.
Globally influential, but the sustainability element was only launched in 2019. Monitored closely by university administrators, industrial leaders, politicians and ministry officials. It measures global universities’ success in delivering the SDGs, against 247 indicators aligned with the SDGs around the following aspects: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching	The total score is calculated by combining the SDG 17 score (which includes 27 indicators and accounts for 22% of the total score) with its best three results on the remaining 16 SDGs (each accounting for 26%; number of indicators varies from 4–19 depending on the SDG). Thus, universities are scored based on a different set of SDGs, depending on their focus	Marginson and van der Wende, 2007; Hazelkorn, 2015
Universitas Indonesia GreenMetric (GM)
Link to the cited article.
Mostly applied in Asia but also in Europe and the United States. Measures campus sustainability efforts using an online survey with 39 indicators that capture 6 criteria: setting and infrastructure; energy and climate change; waste; water; transportation; and education and research. It was launched in 2010	A point system is applied to indicators and a weighting to the criteria. The data are submitted to the organisation who then establish the ranking. Uncertainties on the evaluation process of applications and the precise effects of individual categories on the overall results, especially the geographical aspects	Lauder et al., 2015; UI GreenMetric, 2023

Source(s): Authors’ own work