Green metrics: how are Brazilian universities doing?

Leal Filho, Walter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-5225, Lopes, Gabriele ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8352-4341, Trevisan, Laís ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3673-6573, Bella, Ricardo Luis ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-1789, Rampasso, Izabela ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1633-6628, Brunozi Júnior, Antônio Carlos ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9372-6246, Bichueti, Roberto ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7548-720X, Quelhas, Osvaldo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6816-1677, Anholon, Rosley ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3163-6119 and Galleli, Barbara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9650-2619 (2025) Green metrics: how are Brazilian universities doing? Discover Sustainability, 6 (1). 90. ISSN 2662-9984

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Abstract

Brazil is home to some of the world’s most significant biodiversity, including vast portions of the Amazon rainforest. Universities are pivotal in leading environmental sustainability efforts within such a context, setting examples through their policies, research, and community engagement. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Brazil, hubs for research and innovation, making them ideal places to develop, test, and refine new sustainability technologies and practices, are facing regulatory pressures to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. By evaluating and publishing green metrics, Brazilian universities, like their counterparts in other countries, can set benchmarks for environmental performance, encouraging other institutions to adopt similar practices. There is a perceived need for research on green metrics at universities in Brazil, which may shed light on the factors that reflect their shift towards sustainability and environmental stewardship. Against this background, this paper outlines the status of the top 10 universities in Green Metric ranking located in Brazil. It provides some suggestions on how to improve the contribution of higher education institutions towards sustainability in a country that is both ecologically rich and diverse.