Mariano Marcos
State University

MMSU ranks 1st among PH SUCs, 181st worldwide in UI GreenMetric univ rankings

By Ian Paul Villanueva

Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) continues its trajectory toward global environmental leadership as it maintained its leadership among Philippine State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and ranked 181st in the world in the UIGreenMetric World University Rankings 2026, marking its fourth successive climb and its highest placement since joining the rankings in 2022.

Also maintaining second rank among Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs), MMSU obtained an overall score of 8,150 across seven pillars: 1,275 in Setting and Infrastructure (9th in the country); 1,825 in Energy and Climate Change (3rd); 1,075 in Waste (6th); 837.5 in Water (8th); 1,550 in Transportation (5th); 1,587.5 in Education (5th); and 975 in Governance and Digitalization (13th).

The figures were sufficient for MMSU to breach the top 200 for the second time. It can be remembered that the university placed 200th in 2025, up from being 231st in 2024 and 251st in 2023.

MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr., described the university’s rise as nothing short of “proof that our efforts to champion sustainability in our campuses are effective.” Dr. Manzano also vowed to remain relentless in steering the university toward sustainability, acknowledging that there is always room for improvement.

Described as the world’s first and most comprehensive ranking system that looks into universities’ environmental sustainability and institutional leadership, this year’s iteration of the rankings evaluated 2,016 universities worldwide and 130 in the Philippines.

MMSU first joined the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings in 2022, during the term of former University President and current Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Shirley C. Agrupis. The university has since moved up by 171 places from its initial ranking of 356th.