Following

Hi Praharsha

Here are some examples:

• give cash rebates to staff members who cycle or walk to work and do not bring a motor vehicle onto campus (system like this operates at Herriot Watt or used to be in place)
• install rooftop solar or wind generators so as to generate their energy needs directly (University of Sussex has such a turbine)
• source power from renewable energy companies directly
• improve the energy efficiency of buildings
• reduce electricity consumption through awareness programmes on campus
• publish annual carbon statistics

PJust to note that water management is hard to link with carbon neutral. These are separate issues in sustainability transitions, mostly (unless all water is obtained through ultra-high energy sources such as reverse osmosis.

Pr

Transport: Ev's, bicycles, alternate modes, Renewable Energy

Dear Praharsha, please have a look at

http://nachhaltigeuniversitaeten.at/english/

do see what Austrian universities are doing.

This is a tool to balance carbon:

http://climcalc.boku.ac.at/

also interesting:

http://rootability.com/sustainable-campus-and-green-university-networks-and-initaitives/

best regards

Johannes

Hi David walwyn,

The idea of cash rebates is different and good. In case of water management, I am looking mainly how one can minimize the Energy usage for filling tanks, pumping and Gardening. Like, Rather than Pumping water (energy consumption) for gardening, any other simple ways to pump reused water (with less or no energy consumption).

Thank you for sharing the Information.

Dear Johannes,

Thanks a lot for sharing the links. But I am unable to download the Excel sheet (carbon calculator), as it requires login id and there is no sign in option for that page. Can you please help me in downloading that.

Regards,

Praharsha

This is a good issue. But most of the universities are not aware about this. They are not trying to make their campus carbon neutral. Awareness building is important.

Following

Hi Praharsha Repalle ,

In this paper you can find some practices we are doing about energy:

Conference Paper Energy Efficiency Studies in a Brazilian University Campus

Hi Praharsha,

University Laval (Quebec, Canada) is currently carbon neutral, largely because of its Plan to Fight Climate Change and its sustainable management of the Montmorency forest, which increases forest carbon sinks. University Laval also purchases carbon credits to offset its emissions. You can find more details here : https://www.ulaval.ca/en/sustainable-development/categories-of-actions/fighting-climate-change.html

Hi Charles Breton ,

Thanks a Lot, for sharing the Information.

Just checked, yes the access is not open any more. If you drop them a note, they will be glad to share and to share their experiences. Activities at the participating universities include workshops for students, infoscreens for public transport, bicycle lanes, new train stops close to the university campus, teachers involving the subject into their lectures, cooperation of the canteen with regional farmers and many more

best regards

Johannes

Praharsha Repalle Johannes Fresner Mauricio Sperandio Krishna Kumar Yadav

Nalanda University (https://www.nalandauniv.edu.in/), the oldest university of the world has been re-established in 2016 whose architecture has been planned as a NET ZERO campus.

Positioning through self-referential accretion Nalanda University is envisaged as the campus of the future, positioned at the forefront of global education and the hub of intellectual excellence. Equally, the master plan of the campus is an iconic beacon that attracts global attention for adopting sustainable methods to achieve social and economic integration with the local community.

The location of the campus, in a predominantly agricultural area, implies a larger impact on the adjacent areas. It is bound to transform the land use pattern of the surroundings through the creation of supporting infrastructure and linkages, resulting in the creation of a large tract of gated islands within the ever-expanding sprawls, disrupting natural connections between surrounding villages. This, in turn, will impact the very survival of the farmers with small land holdings.

The master plan integrates sustainable practices at every phase of the project, from site planning of the campus through the creation of infrastructure, cost-effective ways to both reduce consumption of natural resources and minimize dependency on off-site building materials. The plan allows for incremental growth and flexible expansion and phasing, while preserving the agricultural and environmental basis of the region.

The intent is to create a model campus plan that aims to replicate the spirit of Nalanda that endured in its relevance for 800 years by embracing environmental strategies that are simple, efficient, and appropriate to the place.

There is a need for the university to engage with inhabitants from surrounding villages by opening its doors. To ensure ecological and economic sustainability of the region, a large part of the campus is reserved for development and dissemination of information about modern practices in agriculture and biotechnology.

The whole master plan in itself is transitional, as it demonstrates the integration of the campus into a large eco-system of the site. The plan aims to combine state-of-the art technologies with planning principles of erstwhile Nalanda University to create a carbon-neutral and zero waste campus.

The soil collected from excavation of the lake and other water features can be used for producing compressed stabilized earth blocks. In addition to these principles, there is a whole palette of ideas operating at different scales, from the scale of individual cluster, to the scale of the campus, to the scale of individual building. The ideas include the cooling as well as cleaning of air through the use of selected native plants, deployment of dry draft cooling towers to create a microclimate that averages around 25 degrees centigrade regardless of ambient climate, and use of photovoltaic panels over the central lake to reduce evaporation losses as well as allow optimal efficiency by remaining cool.

Complete Document on NET ZERO infra of Nalanda University: https://www.nalandauniv.edu.in/docs/ppt.pdf

Official webpage: https://www.nalandauniv.edu.in/campus-life/upcoming-campus/