Sustainability, Florence in the top 200 in the world

The University of Florence's green vocation and commitment to sustainable development are increasingly gaining recognition in international rankings: the University is in the top 13% worldwide according to the 2024 survey by the QS Sustainability agency and obtains its fifth consecutive improvement in the 2023 ranking drawn up by UI Green Metric.

"In the 2023 QS Sustainability ranking we were in the top 20% worldwide, whereas today we are in a much higher band of the ranking," observes Unifi's Vice Rector for social impact Marco Pierini. Similarly, UI Green Metric highlights the progress achieved and consolidated in recent years, placing us among the most advanced in the international arena. In summary, we can say that both rankings reward the effectiveness of the University's policies in a strategically important area.”

QS Sustainability 2024

In the ranking drawn up by the international agency for 2024, the Florentine university ranks 192nd internationally, thus confirming its position in the top 200, despite the fact that the number of institutions surveyed has actually doubled (from 700 to 1,403). Florence also ranks sixth among Italian universities (47 institutions evaluated, 16 more than the previous year).

Compared to 2023, the international agency QS has changed its ranking methodology by focusing on three specific topics: social impact, environmental impact and governance.

In the first area, regarding the Impact of Education, i.e., the set of initiatives aimed at a more inclusive and equitable education (linked to Goal 4 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals), Unifi obtains a third place at national level, just as it earns a second place regarding the Knowledge Exchange, which measures the commitment to the dissemination of knowledge in less-developed countries.

With respect to environmental impact, the University ranks third among Italian university institutions in consideration of the research activity carried out.

Lastly, it took third place also in relation to governance, which focuses on the quality of the policies adopted by university management, the degree of transparency and the ability to include the student component.

UI Green Metric 2023

Unifi's institutional commitment and initiatives in the field of sustainability are also promoted by the UI Green Metric with a score of 7,985 (500 more than in 2022) out of a possible 10,000.

For the fifth year in a row, Florence has advanced in the ranking of green universities, a real cavalcade that places the University in 173rd place in the world rankings with an advance of 52 positions (it was previously 225th), despite a larger number of institutions (1,183 instead of 1,050).

Florence reaches 12th place in the national ranking, gaining another three positions compared to the previous survey, out of 32 institutions examined.

There are six parameters adopted again this year for the elaboration of the ranking: Unifi scored higher than the previous year on three indicators (“energy”, “waste” and “water management”) and confirmed itself on two others (“transport” and “education and research”).  

This result is also fruit of the training and awareness-raising activities promoted by the university, which have brought about a greater awareness of the issue of sustainability in the university community, as well as the effort made by the University Green Office, which contributed to the research and systematic collection of the data needed to answer the survey.