Lund University has just achieved a historic milestone: ranked No. 1 in the world in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2026, making it the most sustainable university globally. This comes only six months after the previous QS World University Rankings placed Lund 72nd among more than 2,900 universities worldwide – and first in Sweden. Together, these results highlight Lund’s leading role both in global sustainability and academic excellence.
One area where Lund truly excels is sustainability: we ranked fifth two years ago and third last year.
In this year’s sustainability ranking, we have reached number one.
“Humble, proud and inspired to keep up the good work”, is how Lund University Vice-Chancellor Erik Renström summarises his first impressions after receiving the news.
The rankings take close to eighty indicators into account, looking at environmental impact in education, research and the workplace as a whole, as well as social impact and governance.
Lund University has had a strong track record especially within governance, indicating a very transparent leadership and effective ethical frameworks. In this year’s ranking we score a maximum of 100 points out of 100. We also had 97,9 out of 100 points scored in the subcategory of equality. Lastly we scored highest in the subcategory of Environmental Research/Sustainable research, reaching 100 points there as well.
“Being ranked number one globally for sustainability in the 2026 QS rankings is a strong recognition for Lund University – and for LUSEM as part of it – and the result of long-term, systematic work across faculties and support services. It shows that sustainability is not an add-on for us, but a core commitment that shapes our education, research and collaboration with society", says Joakim Gullstrand, Dean at LUSEM.
