Global ranking demonstrates continuous Cardinal commitment to sustainability
By Holly Hinson - February 10, 2026
University of Louisville’s robust sustainability efforts have earned new kudos from the 2026 QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Sustainability Ranking. For 2026, UofL was positioned among the top 32% worldwide.
Last year was the first time UofL received the QS global ranking, and it was established relying solely on publicly available information.
“This is the first year that sustainability data was intentionally gathered and reported to QS with the encouragement and assistance of the Office of Institutional Research,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives.
In the 2026 QS Sustainability Rankings, UofL significantly improved our score, ranking 652 out of 2,002 global institutions, with an overall score of 63.2% (Social Impact: 70%. Environmental Impact: 49.7%. Governance: 89.4%. Equality: 79.9%. Knowledge Exchange: 63.4%. Impact of Education: 61%. Employability and Opportunities: 62.3%. Health and Wellbeing: 90.9%. Environmental Sustainability: 47.4%. Environmental Education: 27.4%. Environmental Research: 80.5%.)
Mog said this newest metric complements the steady progress UofL has attained every three-year measurement period under the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) framework developed by the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education).
President Gerry Bradley said a sustainability mindset is critical to a university’s policies, procedures and culture. “Anything else means that we are not actually creating the better world that we say we want for our students and our community.”
According to STARS, UofL has remained in the top 100 most sustainable schools on the planet, consistently maintaining the highest STARS rating of any school in Kentucky and ranking fourth among its official benchmark institutions. The next STARS ranking will be announced in April.
Recently, UofL was also granted two core recertifications. For a fourth time, UofL was named a silver-level Bicycle Friendly University (a rating valid 2025-2029) by the League of American Bicyclists, and for the 16th consecutive year recognized as a Tree Campus Higher Education institution by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Since UofL first signed onto the Climate Commitment and formed the university-wide Sustainability Council in 2008, it has launched a wide variety of campus sustainability initiatives making meaningful impacts on the lives and learning of our campus community. A few of these include:
- Degree programs in sustainability
- Slashing greenhouse emissions by half
- UofL Free Store and Cardinal Cupboard
- Campus gardens and community composting
- Farmers Markets and CSA programs
- EcoReps and Ecolympics
- Sustainability Roundtable
- Kroger Zero Hunger Zero Waste Scholars
Mog said rankings like STARS and QS help UofL recruit sustainability-minded students and employees and help to prioritize and better understand where to invest limited resources.
“If you think about it, UofL ‘s reason for being is to create a better future for our students, to conduct research that will make the world a better place, and to engage the community in mutually beneficial ways,” Mog said. “Sustainability is key to crafting that future every day.”
Interested in finding out more about sustainability and what you can do to help? Visit UofL Sustainability.
Source: Global ranking demonstrates continuous Cardinal commitment to sustainability (UofL News, Feb. 10, 2026)
