The University of Pécs Among the World Leaders in the Sustainability World Ranking

With another outstanding international result, the University of Pécs (PTE) has demonstrated that, thanks to years of consistent work in the field of sustainability, it belongs among the world's leading higher education institutions. In the 2026 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, the University of Pécs finished 26th out of more than 2,000 universities across 110 countries, and for the seventh consecutive year, it has become the greenest university in Hungary.

The 2026 result is particularly valuable given that the field in the UI GreenMetric is continually expanding, and the PTE has maintained its position among the top thirty universities in the world within this increasingly large and strong international ranking.

The latest achievement is a further international recognition of a comprehensive sustainability approach consciously built for over a decade. For the University of Pécs, sustainability does not represent a collection of separate programmes, but rather a strategic direction encompassing the institution's operations as a whole: from education and research, through infrastructure development and energy-efficient operations, to community engagement and mindset shaping. In recent years, the PTE has implemented mutually reinforcing developments, programmes, and community initiatives that simultaneously serve to reduce environmental impact, promote the responsible use of resources, and strengthen sustainable thinking. As a result, the university has not only become a key player domestically, but has also maintained a stable presence for years within the narrow elite of the world's most successful universities in the field of sustainability.

Regarding the fresh results, Adrián Fábián, Rector of the PTE, stated:

"For the University of Pécs, sustainability is an investment in the future, while also representing a commitment to responsibility and setting an example. The institution's aim is to continuously reduce its environmental impact in its own operations, while conveying knowledge, attitudes, and good practices through its educational, research, and social engagement that contribute to sustainable development well beyond the walls of the university," the Rector emphasised.

The UI Green University Programme plays a defining role in coordinating institutional sustainability efforts and encouraging new initiatives. One of the programme's primary goals is for sustainability to appear not merely as a strategic objective, but also in the everyday operations of the university community. To this end, a series of awareness-raising campaigns, student and staff programmes, professional partnerships, and sustainability projects help university citizens contribute—through their own decisions and initiatives—to the creation of an environmentally conscious university and a more liveable future.

Many staff members at the PTE are able to commute to work by electric bicycle, thereby ensuring zero emissions.

The ranking's methodology expanded further in 2026. Alongside the previous six evaluation areas—infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste management, water management, transportation, and education and research—a new seventh pillar has emerged: institutional governance and digitalisation. This new evaluation area examines, among other things, the institutional background of sustainability governance, transparency, sustainability and financial reporting, and the application of digital solutions.

Consequently, the result of the 2026 world ranking is not merely another prestigious placement, but rather confirmation of the consistent, long-term institutional work thanks to which the University of Pécs has been Hungary's greenest university uninterruptedly since 2020, and a defining player in the international sustainability elite year after year.

The renewed park of the university's medical school is also a green oasis.

At the head of the 2026 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings—retaining its first place from last year—is Wageningen University & Research (Netherlands), with Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (Trier University of Applied Sciences, Germany) in second place, and Universidade de São Paulo (USP, Brazil) in third.

The full results list of the 2026 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings is available here: https://uigreenmetric.com/rankings/university/overall-rankings-2026 

By Gergely Kottász
Photos by Szabolcs Csortos