ITS aims to be eco-friendly campus

The Sepuluh Nopember Technology Institute (ITS) of Surabaya is launching a campaign to reduce its carbon footprint, which will gradually cut down on air-conditioner use in classrooms and expand its so-called campus forest.

The campus management will kick off its reforestation program and campus forest expansion on Saturday. It will involve 7,000 students, lecturers and employees from the institute.

“We will avoid using air-conditioners as much as we can. When the trees in the forest grow, we will not need to use air-conditioners,” ITS eco campus program coordinator Achmad Rusdiansyah said Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

He said the campus had removed air-conditioners from its Electronic Polytechnic campus. All rooms in the polytechnic have been designed without air-conditioning installations.

“Even without air-conditioners, classrooms at the polytechnic are cool. Fresh air is provided through ventilation,” said Rusdiansyah. “That’s what we call environmentally friendly. And when the campus forest expands, the air will become cooler and cleaner again.”