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Universities in rigorous pursuit of green campus
As the message of climate change becomes louder, more Indonesian universities are joining the green movement
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As the message of climate change becomes louder, more Indonesian universities are joining the green movement.
There have been obvious environmental changes happening on campuses across the country in recent years. Major cities like Jakarta have been investing more in integrated transportation systems by building bicycle lanes and renovating sidewalks so as to improve access to the nearest train and bus stations.
Universities are also planting more trees, supplying clean water on tap and replacing old bulbs with efficient-energy lights. They are also enhancing their waste management; some are even selling compost they produce from waste materials.
And instead of expanding parking lots horizontally, they are choosing to build multi-story car garages, leaving more space for gardens, parks and trees. Natural daylight for indoor activities has become a priority.
Green campus campaigns began in earnest when in 2013 the Environment and Forestry Ministry designated five state universities as pilot projects: Pattimura University in Ambon, Sebelas Maret University (UNS) in Surakarta, Hasanuddin University in Makassar, Cendrawasih University in Jayapura and Diponegoro University in Semarang. In the long run, all universities — public and private — in the country will eventually follow suit.
Every year, universities compete to be the greenest on the planet, or at least in Indonesia. The years of toil have paid off. Last year, University of Indonesia (UI) ranked 27th in the world. It was the only Indonesian university to win an international green award.
UI has established a national green campus rating body, the UI GreenMetric. Since 2010, it has regularly published green campus rankings worldwide, involving over 700 universities. On the list are 66 Indonesian universities taking part in the global green movement.
One of the oldest universities in the country, UI takes the movement seriously. During campus orientations, it has special sessions about it. It also has a mandatory course about the environment and sustainability for all of its students.
“Each year more participants voluntarily join our survey. It shows more and more universities have greater concern about environmental issues,” says UI GreenMetric chairwoman Riri Fitri Sari.
UI GreenMetric, which also reviews how much funding goes for environmental research and development, seeks to promote green practices among universities, believing that educational institutions serve as appropriate examples about sustainability.
UNS in Surakarta, Central Java, is among the leading green campaigners. Over the past few years, it has built infrastructure to support sustainability, such as for water conservation, waste management and tap water as well as revitalizing its old pipelines.
In the past two years, the university has adopted a one-student-five-trees program, which makes it obligatory for each student to plant one tree on the campus area and four trees during their orientation weeks.
“Making the campus greener is more than planting trees; the effort should have an impact on the lives of all members of the university,” says Okid Parama Astirin, the coordinator of the UNS green campus movement.
UNS, which ranked seventh on the 2018 UI GreenMetric list of greenest campuses in Indonesia, seeks to raise ecological awareness among all of its students, lecturers and staff members to embrace energy-efficient practices.
Sanata Dharma Catholic University (USD) in Yogyakarta, which ranked 37th began to embrace green campus principles four years ago when Pope Francis released his encyclical titled “Laudato Si” — a Latin adage meaning “Praise be to You” — that called for actions to address climate change problems.
The university has taken steps toward a greener campus by replacing old bulbs with the latest more efficient technologies, expanding ground water recharge areas, and restoring parks and expanding green space on campus.
USD has started using solar power for low-electricity devices, such as park lamps and pond water pumps. “In the upcoming years, we’ll use more solar power,” says rector Johanes Eka Priyatma.
More sophisticated clean energy technology, however, has yet to be used on the campus because it is still too expensive given high maintenance costs. “But we’re seeking to get it,” says Johanes.
As embracing green buildings can be very costly, there are many ways for Indonesia’s universities to advance their greenness, such as using banana leaves not disposable plastic plates in cafeterias.
“We’ve always been green and natural actually,” Riri says. “We just need to go back and change our lifestyle.”
