Critical Analysis of the GreenMetric World University Ranking System: The Issue of Comparability

Abstract

The Universitas Indonesia GreenMetric World Ranking is the most widely adopted system nowadays to rank worldwide universities’ sustainability. The number of participating universities has consistently increased throughout the last decade. An in-depth analysis of this ranking system is made to assess how sustainability in universities is measured through specific indicators. Specifically, based on expert knowledge, common logic and the scientific literature, these indicators are assessed with respect to whether they can be used to fairly quantify and rank worldwide universities’ sustainability development. Some indicators proposed by the ranking system, such as the number of renewable energy sources on campus and the number of various types of programs for sustainable development, were found to be unable to measure any sustainability development effectively and fairly. Many others, such as the opted sewage disposal modality, the percentage of university budget for sustainability efforts and the ratio of sustainability research funding to total research funding, were found to need adjustment to account for context-specific factors such as availability of renewable energy sources, weather, landscape, original construction and the cultural habits of the enrolled people. Taking into account these considerations, a fairer evaluation and comparison of universities’ sustainability could be achieved which provides universities with information on how to effectively improve their sustainability.