AIS participates in conferences to further Ateneo’s sustainability commitments

Ateneo Institute of Sustainability represented Ateneo de Manila in two major conferences that focus on metrics on embodying sustainable development: the Global Sustainable Development Congress (GSDC) and the 11th International Workshop on UI GreenMetric World University Rankings (IWGM). 

Global Sustainable Development Congress 2025 

The Global Sustainable Development Congress is an annual conference convened by the Times Higher Education (THE). With the theme “Convening the Global Sustainability and Higher Education Community”, GSDC 2025 was held at the Istanbul Congress Center, Türkiye last 16-19 June 2025 and was co-hosted by Türkiye's Council of Higher Education. The conference is much anticipated worldwide annually because it provides a glimpse into outcomes of THE Impact Ranking, a sustainability ranking which assesses the performance of universities vis-a-vis the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
 

As revealed in GSDC 2025, Ateneo de Manila re-enters the top 101-200 bracket and remains as the highest ranking Philippine university in THE Impact Ranking for the fifth consecutive year. Representing Ateneo de Manila in GSDC 2025 was Mr Josiah Theodore J Cacayan, AIS Program Head for Organizational Sustainability. Joining Mr Cacayan are 3,500+ delegates from 110+ countries from varying sectors such as universities, governments, non-governmental organizations, and business organizations. With the strong push from the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) for sustainability, numerous Philippine universities are present in the congress with CHED hosting a booth and serving as speakers for some panel sessions. It was also an opportunity to network with other Philippine universities to share best practices and find opportunities for collaboration. 
 

The conference features 200+ seminars and workshops on topics ranging from application of sustainability frameworks to HEIs, maximizing the use of data management in cultivating campus sustainability, diverse approaches to teaching sustainability, embedding SDGs into curricula, research and innovation to support transition to circular economy, and future-literate workforces among others. AIS attended particular sessions that can guide AIS in preparation for the Sustainable University Master Plan. To close the conference, THE also introduced the upcoming Sustainability Impact Network, which was designed to foster a global community of universities demonstrating leadership in sustainability and social impact.

The 11th International Workshop on UI GreenMetric World University Rankings

Meanwhile, the International Workshop on UI GreenMetric World University Rankings is an annual conference which seeks to celebrate the milestones of universities in their sustainability journey. IWGM launches the call for participation of universities worldwide in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, a ranking system developed by Universitas Indonesia (UI) that determines universities’ environmental commitment and initiatives through 39 indicators in 6 criteria. This year’s IWGM has the theme "Doing Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education: The Story of Our Institution and Society"and took place in Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France last 17-20 June 2025 in Nice, France.
 

While UI GreenMetrics is largely participated by Philippine universities, Ateneo de Manila has not joined the ranking system. On this end, AIS Director Dr Emmanuel D Delocado represented Ateneo de Manila in IWGM in order to understand whether the definition of sustainability of UI GreenMetrics aligns with how the University sees it. With the recommendations, the University can assess whether the value systems align and whether it will commit to join UI GreenMetric. Numerous Philippine universities are also represented in the conference highlighting the upwelling of sustainability in the local landscape.

The conference featured at least 50 presentations which focus on universities worldwide embed sustainability in their education and research, as well as in infrastructure, energy, waste, water, and mobility. In the conference, Dr Delocado had the chance to have a sidebar discussion with Prof. Erwin Franquet, Vice-President for Sustainable Development of Université Côte d'Azur, who presented their masterplan for sustainability. In their discussion, the two noted several parallelisms between the experience of Ateneo de Manila and Université Côte d'Azur despite having a very different context. Whole-of-society approach to sustainability and empowering stakeholders are just two of the common themes in the sustainability journey of the two universities.
 

While Ateneo de Manila engages in discussions in sustainability not for rankings, but because of its alignment with our vision of being a “force for good”, benchmarking and networking with universities from varied contexts allows us to learn from their experience and improve our operations. The University is committed to engaging in global sustainability conferences such as GSDC and IWGM to stay informed on emerging trends and best practices and to network with other sustainability champions in support of SDG17 Partnership for the Goals.