Published: 03.11.2026
In 2026, Polytechnic University of Lisbon (UPL) rises to 5th place nationally in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, which assess the environmental performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide. UPL remained in the 2nd quartile of the global ranking, out of a total of 2,016 participating institutions.
Compared with the previous year, UPL maintained its strongest performance in the Waste, Transportation, and Education and Research categories, achieved an excellent result in Governance and Digitalisation (a new category), and improved its relative position in three of the five categories assessed nationally, excluding the new category introduced this year.
UPL’s ranking position
| Year | Worldwide | Portugal | No. of participating HEIs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 599 | 5 | 2016 |
| 2025 | 633 | 7 | 1745 |
| 2024 | 508 | 7 | 1477 |
| 2023 | 533 | 6 | 1183 |
| 2022 | 522 | 5 | 1050 |
UPL’s participation in UI GreenMetric continues to be regarded as an important complementary diagnostic tool, enabling the systematisation of good practices developed across its Schools and Services, as well as supporting the institution’s strategic planning for sustainable development.
The results achieved over recent years reflect UPL’s commitment to the continuous improvement of its campuses through the implementation of increasingly sustainable and inclusive spaces and practices.
The indicators assessed include:
- Healthcare facilities supporting the well-being of students, academic staff, and technical, specialist and management staff
- Number of innovative programmes in energy and climate change
- Waste treatment and recycling programmes
- Availability of zero-emission vehicles on campus
- Community services related to sustainability involving students
- Courses, events and initiatives in the field of environmental sustainability
About the UI GreenMetric ranking
The UI GreenMetric World University Rankings assess universities’ commitment to campus sustainability, based on seven main categories:
- Setting and Infrastructure (11%)
- Energy and Climate Change (20%)
- Waste (17%)
- Water (11%)
- Transportation (17%)
- Education and Research (13%)
- Governance and Digitalisation (11%)
Established in 2010, the ranking aims to raise awareness among higher education institutions of the importance of sustainable development.
In 2026, 2,016 universities from 110 countries participated under the theme “Advancing Sustainable Campuses through Governance, Digitalization, and Integrated Performance”, which sought to assess HEIs’ efforts to maintain policies and programmes aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
View Polytechnic University of Lisbon profile on UI GreenMetric here.
Text by GCI UPL. Translated by SCom.
