Cornell is the fifth-greenest university in the world, according to the GreenMetric Ranking of World Universities, a new ranking system by the University of Indonesia.

The ranking is based on numerical information provided by 95 universities around five indicators: green space (24 percent of the final score); energy efficiency (28 percent); water use (15 percent); waste management (15 percent); and transportation systems (18 percent).

The University of California-Berkeley topped the list, followed by the University of Nottingham (U.K.), York University (Canada) and Northeastern University.

The University of Indonesia (ranked 15th) created the ranking to help promote environmental awareness and encourage sustainable development at universities around the world.

"Universities have a special responsibility to lead the way in addressing the very real problems connected with global warming," wrote Professor Dr. der Soz. Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri, university rector, in an online letter. The GreenMetric Ranking complements similar rankings based in the West, but aims to give equal consideration to efforts by universities in developing countries, the website states.

The ranking system was developed by a team of University of Indonesia experts in architecture, urban planning, engineering, sustainability and social science research methodology.