Wyścig do marki uczelni przyjaznej dla klimatu. Studium Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w rankingach szkół wyższych odpowiedzialnych środowiskowo

Abstract

The paper addresses the issue of the potential impact of a university’s presence in the rankings of climate friendly HEIs on its brand and activities, filling a research gap in this area. It starts with a discussion of the concepts of a brand, its personality and strength, presenting selected brand rankings as well as criteria for rankings of climate friendly universities, having outlined the specificity of a climate responsible HEI brand. Afterwards it presents answers to the research questions which were obtained using the desk research method obtained using the desk research method: how the Jagiellonian University is currently performing in the rankings of climate friendly universities and what aspirational reference points can be identified for it. The subjects of the study were three leading rankings published in 2023, which assessed HEIs in terms of their climate actions and the position of the Jagiellonian University in them – both globally and in relation to groups of universities from Poland, Central Europe, European Union and the UNA Europa network. As a result of benchmarking, groups of HEIs brands were mapped as they could constitute reference points for the activities of the Jagiellonian University and other Polish universities. The impact of climate friendly HEIs rankings on the brand and activities of a university is based not only on the need to meet participation criteria, but also on creating social pressure related to comparing brands, and on the need to ensure the coherence of the brand of a climate friendly university on the principle of positive feedback loop.