The hidden carbon cost of digital visibility: a socio-technical view of university sustainability and digital carbon performance

This study examines whether top-ranked universities in the 2025 UI GreenMetric World University Rankings demonstrate comparable environmental performance in their digital operations. Overall campus sustainability performance showed no statistically significant association with website-based carbon metrics, revealing a structural disconnect between physical and digital environmental accountability. Interpreted through a socio-technical lens, this disconnect reflects the coupling of technical infrastructure and social interaction that shapes digital environmental impact independently of campus-based sustainability regimes. Differentiated patterns emerged across sub-dimensions. Energy and climate performance were negatively associated with per-page carbon intensity, whereas education and research performance were positively associated with website traffic volume. Green hosting adoption remained negligible across the sample. These findings expose a governance gap in how SDGs 7, 12, and 13 are operationalized in higher education sustainability assessment. Universities that rank highly in sustainability rankings do not perform similarly in terms of digital carbon footprints from web traffic. The study provides concrete indicators for ranking frameworks, university sustainability strategies, and national policy tools.