American University of Beirut

Office of Communications, communications@aub.edu.lb

The American University of Beirut was ranked first in Lebanon, as well as 133^rd in the world out of 1,050 universities, in this year's University of Indonesia GreenMetric World University Rankings, an annual publication ranking universities based on green campuses and environmental sustainability. AUB advanced nearly 29 places since 2021, when it was ranked 162^nd out of 956 institutions. 

Despite all the odds and challenges faced in Lebanon, AUB took a leap forward and ranked in the 13^th percentile of most sustainable universities based on a multi-criteria analysis related to six broad categories: setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste management, water management, transportation, and research and education. AUB scored 7,975 out of 10,000 possible points as compared to last year’s score of 7,475. This year’s submission included additional evaluation based on numerical data about campus operations, innovative programs, cultural activities and events, health, safety and security infrastructures, and sustainable community service initiatives and startups. 

The highest scores were acquired on education and research (90 percent) followed by setting and infrastructure (83 percent). 

Universities can be considered small towns because of their substantial activities including teaching, research, and community engagement, as well as movement of goods and people on and off campus, all of which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and have significant environmental impacts within their boundaries. AUB is aware of its campus externalities on environmental quality and embraces its responsibility to address sustainability in its operations and policies. 

AUB's annual sustainability report highlights the university's work and future plans in addressing some of the most pressing issues confronting our planet, especially those relating to sustainability in all of its forms including the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) across all areas: research, teaching, administration, campus management, and community engagement.

“AUB realizes that decisions taken today shape the future and is keen on transforming its campus into an active laboratory for sustainability, accessibility, and inclusion to advance human and societal health and wellbeing” said Farouk Merhebi, director of the Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management (EHSRM) Department, who is responsible for preparing the AUB ann​ual sustainability report and reporting for the UI GreenMetric ranking.​