"Cooperation Protocol in the Field of Creating a Sustainable and
Climate Friendly Campus" Signed at CoHE
- CoHE President Özvar: "We aim to create campuses that are
sustainable, energy efficient, compatible with nature and cause minimal
damage to the environment, and to increase energy efficiency and
renewable energy applications in university campuses"
October 4, 2022
A protocol signing ceremony was held at the Council of Higher Education
(CoHE) with the participation of Environment, Urbanization and Climate
Change Minister Murat Kurum, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih
Dönmez and CoHE President Erol Özvar.
The rectors of Middle East Technical University, Istanbul Technical
University, Yıldız Technical University, Ege University, Gazi University,
Karabük University, Bartın University, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Niğde
Ömer Halis Demir University and Selçuk University, where the pilot project
will be launched, attended the signing ceremony held at the White Hall at
CoHE.
CoHE President Erol Özvar stated that they aimed to create university
campuses that were sustainable, energy efficient, compatible with nature
and caused minimal harm to the environment, and stated that they would work
on the access of universities to the necessary financial tools in the
process of sustainable and climate-friendly campus transformation. Özvar
thanked First Lady Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan, who supported the implementation of the protocol.
Özvar stated that universities, which were in line with Türkiye's
development goals and aimed to build the campuses of the future, had the
mission of setting an example to the society in terms of sustainability
with the practices they would carry out on their own campuses. He said that
many universities had remarkable works and joint projects with ministries
in the creation of sustainable and climate-friendly campuses.
Erol Özvar stated that the Council of Higher Education aimed to play a
facilitating role to ensure coordination between universities and
ministries and to achieve more effective and efficient results in this
field.
He said that zero waste units and zero waste management systems were
established in many universities within the scope of the Zero Waste
Project, which had been carried out to control waste within the framework
of sustainable development principles, adding that universities had been
carrying out projects in this scope.
Özvar cited the works on the collection and recycling of wastes, collection
and processing of organic wastes into compost, collection of hazardous and
medical wastes, separate collection of electrical and electronic wastes,
metal and wood scraps, establishment of biological waste water treatment
plant and collection of rain water.
He stated that many projects were launched in the university campuses for
the production of energy from natural resources and the efficient use of
energy and that there were projects such as renewable solar energy
applications, electricity generation from organic wastes of the cafeteria,
smart building applications in minimizing energy consumption and ensuring
the safety of buildings, sensor lighting in buildings and energy saving
light bulb, building insulation and ambient temperature control.
CoHE President Erol Özvar talked about the works to be carried out in the
ten pilot universities selected under the coordination of the Ministry of
Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the Ministry of Energy and
Natural Resources and the Council of Higher Education and then at all
universities within the scope of the Cooperation Protocol in the field of
Sustainable and Climate-friendly Campus Creation”.
"The protocol aims to create campuses that are sustainable, energy
efficient, compatible with nature and cause minimal harm to the
environment, to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy
applications in university campuses, and to carry out studies to raise
awareness and sensitivity in this area.
It is aimed to use energy resources and energy efficiently and effectively
at universities, prevent waste and ensure the use of renewable energy,
reduce the burden of energy costs on the budget, disseminate Zero Waste
practices and protect the environment and support universities in accessing
the necessary financial tools in the process of sustainable and
climate-friendly campus transformation.”
Özvar said that the pilot universities would be METU, ITU, Yıldız Technical
University, Ege University, Gazi University, Karabük University, Bartın
University, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Niğde Ömer Halis Demir University
and Selçuk University.
Erol Özvar thanked the university rectors, who attended the ceremony, for
their contribution to the project.