GREENER CAMPUSES, HIGHER RANKINGS: PRIORITY FOR SL UNIS

UNIVERSITIES IN SRI LANKA ARE PRIORITIZING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY TO IMPROVE GLOBAL RANKINGS, GOVERNANCE, AND LONG-TERM INSTITUTIONAL IMPACT.

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Sri Lankan universities are moving to embed sustainability at the heart of their operations, governance, and academic strategy, aligning with international benchmarks to improve global rankings.

A workshop led by the Open University of Sri Lanka and the Institute of Environmental Professionals spotlighted critical gaps, shared global best practices, and proposed a unified roadmap to foster greener campuses.

Sri Lanka’s universities urgently need to prioritize sustainability as a key measure of progress. This shift is driven by two main factors: their responsibility to society and the need to align with global counterparts.

Acknowledging this, the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) and the Institute of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka (IEPSL) organized a two-day workshop on February 20-21, 2025, titled “Uplifting Environmental Sustainability Performance to Improve University Rankings.” The event aimed to promote sustainable practices in both state and non-state universities while enhancing their global rankings.

It built on a similar workshop held in May 2024, which focused on sustainability compliance and its links to global rankings like the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking and QS World University Rankings.

The recent workshop drew over seventy participants, fostering valuable knowledge-sharing among academics, professionals, and policymakers.

Call for leadership and governance

The workshop opened with an inaugural session featuring key figures from Sri Lanka’s academic and environmental sectors. Senior Professor P.M.C. Thilakarathne, Vice Chancellor of OUSL, underscored the urgent need for universities to take the lead in sustainable development.