NUK Sustainability Report

       
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October 6, 2026 — The National University of Kaohsiung’s (NUK) achievements in sustainable campus development continue to gain international recognition. The latest results of the 2026 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings place NUK 128th globally, a remarkable improvement of 191 places from 319th in 2022. Its global percentile ranking has also advanced from the top 30.4% to the top 6.4%, demonstrating the cumulative results of NUK’s long-term efforts in sustainable governance, low-carbon campus development, and the integration of university-wide resources.

A total of 2,016 universities from 110 countries participated in this year’s rankings, further expanding from 1,745 universities last year. NUK improved from 154th to 128th globally, advancing 26 places, while its Asian ranking rose from 84th to 69th. Looking back over recent years, NUK has steadily climbed from 319th globally in 2022 to 285th in 2023, 278th in 2024, and 154th in 2025, before reaching a new high of 128th in 2026. The university has thus maintained its position among the top 10% of sustainable universities worldwide.

NUK President Chi-Jen Chen said that the continued improvement in the rankings represents more than numerical progress; it reflects the university’s long-term efforts to progressively integrate sustainable development into university governance. From campus environmental improvements, energy conservation and carbon reduction, and ecological conservation to teaching and research, social responsibility, and institutional governance, the results reflect the sustained contributions of faculty, staff, and students across the university. While the UI GreenMetric rankings provide a reference for international comparison and evaluation, the more important goal is to continually improve sustainability in everyday campus operations and connect it with talent development, local engagement, and social responsibility.

NUK Director-General of General Affairs Cheng-Fu Yang noted that the 2026 rankings introduced a new Governance and Digitalization (GD) category and adjusted the weighting of various indicators. NUK scored 1,000 out of 1,100 points in Governance and Digitalization, demonstrating that its sustainability initiatives have gradually expanded beyond environmental management into institutional systems and university governance. NUK achieved a total score of 8,537.5 points this year, an increase of 162.5 points from the previous year. Among the six indicators under the same assessment framework used from 2022 to 2025, the Waste category increased by a cumulative 600 points; Energy and Climate Change increased by 325 points; and Water and Education and Research each increased by 237.5 points. Transportation and Setting and Infrastructure also maintained relatively high scores, demonstrating continued progress across multiple dimensions.

Yang further emphasized that sustainability should not remain merely a matter of ranking data but must be integrated into everyday campus management. NUK currently has 2,341.9 kWp of rooftop solar photovoltaic capacity and has implemented the ISO 50001 Energy Management System, achieving annual electricity savings of approximately 620,000 kWh compared with the previous year. Its wastewater recovery and reuse rate has reached 92.52%, with approximately 160,000 metric tons of water recovered annually, while the achievement rate for designated green procurement items has reached 100%. Through energy management, greenhouse gas inventories, renewable energy, and water recycling initiatives, NUK continues to strengthen the systematic management of its sustainable campus.

The ecological character of NUK as a “forest university without walls” is also a key foundation of its sustainable campus development. Forest and vegetation cover currently accounts for 51.6% of the campus, with 146 recorded tree species, approximately 9,000 trees, and 68 bird species. During Sustainability Week 2025, NUK also signed the Oriole Conservation Habitat Alliance, further strengthening biodiversity conservation on campus. In terms of green transportation, the university has established nine YouBike stations on campus and introduced electric-assisted micro-shuttle vehicles in 2025, incorporating low-carbon principles into campus mobility and daily operations.

NUK’s sustainability initiatives also continue to extend beyond the campus. In 2025, the university participated in the Taiwan Climate Action Expo and collaborated with senior high schools to organize Kaohsiung Science Day and the USR Achievement Exhibition, extending environmental governance and ecological education from the campus into the wider urban community. Through science outreach camps in rural and indigenous communities, NUK has also sought to increase children’s interest in science while reducing psychological and practical barriers to learning and establishing sustained educational connections.

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