QS Sustainability Rankings 2026The University of Hamburg Still Germany’s Most Sustainable University

Photo: University of Hamburg / Denstorf

University of Hamburg Main Building

Overall, the competition this year only increased because more universities, bot nationally and internationally, were included. In Germany, the University of Hamburg took first place among 65 universities. Last year, there were 50.

Internationally, over 1,500 universities took part in the ranking, 250 more than in the previous year. In the world rankings, the University of Hamburg was ranked 46th, alongside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and universities in Dublin, Exeter, and Tokyo.

“This results underscore our commitment, as Universität Hamburg—University of Excellence, to actively assuming responsibility for a sustainable future. We are helping to shape the transformation of scientific pursuit and society, by closely linking sustainability and digitalization. To do so, we are strengthening research, teaching, and knowledge exchange and turning the University of Hamburg into an engine for sustainable innovation,” said the University’s president. Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren.

“This outstanding ranking shows how deeply rooted sustainability is in our University culture. It reflects the activity of many people who are making teaching, research, and administrative operations more sustainable step by step. Our goal is to connect excellence with lived responsibility, in our daily activities and amidst social change,” said Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, the University of Hamburg’s chief sustainability officer. 

In the ranking, the University of Hamburg achieved more than 90 of 100 points in almost every category:

• In “Environmental Research,” the University of Hamburg gained another 2 points (now 96.5)—thanks, among other factors, to the frequently cited research articles published by the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS).
• In “Equality,” the University also gained another 2 points: the QS gave us 95.7 points for, among other reasons, our equal opportunity work.
• We were also able to gain another point in “Health and Well-Being,” with 98.6 points—garnering almost the highest possible number of points for, among things, the research publications in the Faculty of Medicine, as well as for the many health services we provide.
• In “Good Governance,” the University earned 95.2 points, making it one of Germany’s best universities in the area. The activities of the Sustainability Office earned special praise.

About the QS Sustainability Ranking

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a university analyst headquartered in London. The QS Sustainability Ranking is an annual ranking that evaluates the sustainability activities of universities the world over. The ranking is based on, among other factors, the 17 UN Sustainability Goals and it aims to make the efforts of universities visible and to acknowledge their achievements in the area.