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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the internal and external factors related to the disclosure of environmental information in universities which reflect the actions carried out in these universities. Design/methodology/approach: Taking as reference the first 200 universities in the Shanghai ranking, several factors associated with the degree of environmental information disclosure in universities--governance dimension, the relationship and participation of stakeholders, position and prestige as signs of the quality of the institution and cultural concern in the university's country for the environment--are analysed. Findings: The results obtained show that the size of the leadership team, stakeholder participation, the position of the university in rankings and cultural concern in the university's country for the environment are determining factors in the university's environmental actions and, consequently, in their disclosure. Other factors--such as the size of the university, the level of self-financing and financial autonomy--do not affect the disclosure of environmental information. Originality/value: Scant research exists on the environmental commitments of universities; this paper aims to fill that gap. Their role as the main channel of research and as instructors of future professionals makes them points of reference in society. Research on university ranking has traditionally focussed on teaching and research results, but environmental issues are becoming increasingly important. This paper enumerates the factors that influence the dissemination of environmental information in the most prestigious universities. This research also provides an original approach by considering not only top-down but also bottom-up strategies through communication channels and the incidence of cultural factors.