UvA plummets in annual higher education sustainability ranking
The UvA is falling increasingly behind other universities and universities of applied sciences when it comes to sustainability. This is evident from the annual SustainaBul ranking. In the space of three years, the UvA has dropped from third to 26th place in the ranking.
Each year, the student network Studenten voor Morgen (Students for Tomorrow) assesses all universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands on their sustainability performance. Of the 33 higher education institutions included in the ranking, the UvA finished in 26th place in this year’s edition. That marks a significant decline, as in 2025 the university still came in 14th place. In 2023, the UvA even reached third place in the SustainaBul ranking.
Bronze
The ranking is compiled as follows: assessors from Studenten voor Morgen complete a questionnaire for each institution, based on publicly available online information. All participating universities and universities of applied sciences are then shown the results, after which they are given the opportunity to submit additional evidence for each question in order to improve their score. The final ranking is subsequently determined.
Since this year, universities and universities of applied sciences are no longer assessed using a precisely calculated numerical score, but instead receive a gold (8.0 – 10), silver (5.5 – 8.0) or bronze (1.0 – 5.5) rating across the eight different categories: vision, pedagogy and didactics, curriculum, environment, professional development, operations, research and social sustainability. The UvA received bronze – the lowest possible rating – in all categories except research, where it achieved a gold score.
Studenten voor Morgen has not stated what exactly caused the UvA’s dramatic decline compared with previous years. A more detailed report on the ranking is expected to follow at a later date. The UvA Green Office also did not respond to Folia’s questions regarding the drop in the ranking.
VU and HvA
While the UvA is on a downward trajectory, its Amsterdam counterpart is performing notably well in the SustainaBul ranking: the VU finished in second place this year, just behind six-time winner Hogeschool Van Hall Larenstein. Wageningen University completed the top three. The Hogeschool van Amsterdam came in 10th place.
Sensitive issue
The decline in the annual ranking does not stand in isolation; sustainability currently appears to be a sensitive issue for the UvA. Earlier this year, it already emerged that the university had failed to meet its self-imposed 2021 greening targets for this year. This prompted the representative bodies to urge the Executive Board to pay more attention to sustainability within the university. The Joint Assembly concluded at the time that there was a lack of engagement and coordination in the establishment of the planned Sustainability Office.
