The Universitat de Girona has climbed to the top of Spain’s sustainability rankings, taking first place in the 2026 CYD Universidades Sostenibles classification released by the Fundación Conocimiento y Desarrollo. Rising from its second-place standing in 2025, the institution leads 84 evaluated universities nationwide by securing high marks across a dozen distinct performance indicators spanning environmental and social commitments.
How the Universitat de Girona Claimed First Place
The CYD ranking evaluates 84 Spanish universities using 16 core metrics divided between social and environmental dimensions. The classification also tracks 18 total indicators, with the Universitat de Girona achieving a high performance level in 12 of them. The institution landed in the intermediate tier for two indicators and recorded a reduced performance in four others. This performance profile allowed the university to outpace all competitors in top-tier metrics, as the next closest institutions—the Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya and the Universitat de La Rioja—managed only nine high-performing indicators each.
The breakdown between categories reveals distinct institutional strengths. While the Universitat de La Rioja leads the social commitment category with six high-performing indicators compared to Girona’s five, the Universitat de Girona dominates the environmental dimension. The Girona campus accumulated seven top-tier environmental indicators, outpacing other universities in Spain in ecological management, energy efficiency, and waste reduction.
Institutional Policies Driving the Top Ranking
The top-ranking finish recognizes a wide array of long-standing and recent initiatives across the Girona campus. Institutional policies cited in the evaluation include a post-maternity teaching exemption regulation, a dedicated awareness campaign addressing gender-based violence within the academic community, and a specialized diploma in basic competencies designed for socio-labor inclusion. Environmental efforts feature the campus’s eco-solidarity garden located at the Montilivi campus, alongside established healthy walking itineraries.
University Rector Josep Calbó welcomed the milestone achievement, emphasizing that institutional priorities directly target community welfare. At the UdG, work involving inclusion, equality, and sustainability is a priority,
Calbó stated, adding that these focus areas ultimately speak to the well-being of people, a priority issue at the UdG.
The data used by the Fundación CYD underwent verification and quality control processes, drawing from sustainability reports, strategic plans, and international benchmarks.
Decades of Pioneer Environmental Work
The university’s current standing builds on administrative policies focused on environmental and civic engagement. Records show that the Universitat de Girona established itself as one of the national pioneers in environmentalism back in 2000 by approving its first plan of ambientalització. Two years prior to that milestone, in 1998, the institution introduced a carpooling initiative for students and staff that has since evolved into a dedicated mobile application.
Civic engagement among the student body also sets the campus apart from peers across the state. A structured volunteer program launched during the 2010–2011 academic year helped institutionalize student activism. Today, more than 15% of the university’s student body participates directly in organized volunteer work, anchoring the institution’s high marks in social welfare and community outreach.
Behind the Universitat de Girona, the 2026 CYD classification places the Universitat de Vic in the second overall position. The top five is rounded out by the Universitat de La Rioja in third place, the Universitat de Lleó in fourth, and the Universidad Católica de Valencia in fifth. The comparative study provides a quantitative baseline for measuring how Spanish higher education institutions integrate environmental stewardship and social equity into their core academic missions.
Keep reading
