Beyond the Ivory Tower: How Dutch Universities Convert Missions into ESG Performance

Higher education institutions are increasingly expected to excel in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, but questions remain about how a university’s core missions contribute to its ESG outcomes. This study investigates the relationships between the missions of universities—education, research, and entrepreneurship—and their ESG performance, focusing on environmental and social dimensions. We utilize data from 12 research-intensive Dutch universities from 2023 to 2025, drawing on QS World University Rankings (WUR) indicators, the QS Sustainability Rankings, and Times Higher Education (THE) metrics. A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach is employed with formative constructs for each mission and outcome. The results reveal that the entrepreneurship mission (knowledge exchange and industry income) has a strong positive influence on both environmental and social performance, while the research mission significantly boosts social performance. The education mission shows no significant direct effect on either outcome in our model. The findings underscore the critical role of the third mission in driving university ESG performance and suggest that research excellence translates to social impact when aligned with societal needs.