Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) recently released its “World University Sustainability Rankings” for the year 2025 in which it ranks more than 1,500 universities in the world according to three categories, namely their environmental impact (45% weight), social impact (45% weight), and governance (10% weight). The sustainability rankings offers students a unique perspective on which universities are showing commitment towards more sustainability. The sustainability rankings also evaluate the social & environmental impact of universities in their capacity as education & research centers in addition to the social & environmental impact of major employers concerning the operational sustainability challenges of any large & complex organization.

The University of Toronto, Canada dominated the global rankings for the year 2025 with a score of 100, followed by ETH Zurich, Switzerland (score: 99.6) and both Lund University, Sweden and University of California Berkeley, United States (score: 98.8 each).

Regionally, the American University of Beirut (AUB) ranked first (205^th globally), with a score of 78.5, followed closely by King Abdulaziz University, KSA (rank: 207; score: 78.3), Qatar University (rank: 291; score: 73.2), Sultan Qaboos University, Oman (rank: 322; score: 70.7) and United Arab University in the UAE (rank: 343; score: 69.7).

Locally, the AUB was followed by the Lebanese American University (LAU) that came in second place and in the 550^th position in the world in the 2025 rankings with a score of 59.8, followed by the Lebanese University (LU), which occupied the 875^th position with a score of 47.2. The LU was followed by the Beirut Arab University (BAU; global rank: 1001-1020), the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK; global rank: 1121-1140), Saint Joseph University (USJ; global rank: 1201-1250), and the University of Balamand (UB; global rank: 1251-1300). AUB outperformed its Lebanese peers across all three categories.