SUSTAINABLE SITE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL CAMPUSES IN INDIA

Abstract

Sustainability science has grown and become an essential field of science over the last 15 years that seeks to understand the fundamental character of interactions between nature and society. Sustainability is environmentalism along with concern for social equity and economic development. Extensive researches are being carried out to enhance sustainability in the various fields. Campuses being the representative of larger human settlements is the best example for demonstrating sustainable development (SD). Therefore, sustainability became an integral part of campus life. Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), around the world, are restructuring their academics and lifestyle on the campus following sustainability goals. As per the literature SD in HEIs of developed countries is at an advanced stage with the evolution and extensive use of various assessment systems. Lack of abundant literature on SD in Indian campuses compared to the global scenario of SD in HEIs, marks it as an essential study area. Indian campuses have started to work in the direction of SD, but the pace is slow. There is a lack of holistic SD on Indian campuses. Indian campuses do not have a contextual assessment system for SD, and suitable indicators remain unestablished. Thus, there is a general lack of assessment of SD on Indian campuses. The sustainability-related performance of Indian HEIs based on the parameters and indicators listed under the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) and the University of Indonesia GreenMetric World University Ranking (UI GreenMetric WUR) was assessed. Qualitative assessment of Indian HEIs based on the two selected frameworks was carried out. Data was collected for parameters of SD at eight Indian HEIs through surveys, documentation, direct observations, and interviews with professors, research scholars, students, and employees. The study shows that although Indian campuses are implementing SD strategies, the approach is not comprehensive and systematic, as almost 50% of the STARS and UI GreenMetric framework parameters are not currently being complied with. Out of the two selected assessment frameworks, Indian HEIs showed greater compliance with the UI GreenMetric, which may be attributed to its Asian origin. A lack of policies, monitoring and reporting mechanisms were common across all the HEIs. The specific assessment parameters that are widely present on Indian campuses and those which are not currently being emphasised were identified. Although initiatives are being taken for SD in Indian campuses, there is no coherent approach. The SD against some parameters such as energy is more than required while entirely absent in the others like waste and water. In the absence of a monitoring and verification system and guidelines, the SD is detached and sometimes unrecognised. Indian educational campuses require guidelines and a set of benchmarks for the development in the field of sustainability in the form of a refined assessment system. It is speculated that the development of such an assessment system will help Indian campuses to progress towards comprehensive SD. A set of indicators is needed to form an assessment system. Thus an exhaustive list of parameters and indicators was framed for the study. The list is an amalgamation of indicators from literature and the qualitative assessment of the eight campuses. Further, the identified parameters and indicators were analysed by sustainability experts through the Delphi technique and a final list of parameters for SD in Indian campus was framed. Finally, based on literature study, qualitative assessment of SD in selected Indian campuses and expert opinion, a list of twelve parameters and their forty-two indicators was developed. The parameters are Land Use Optimisation (LUO); Surfaces and Site Perviousness (SSP); Vegetation and CO2 Mitigation (VCM); Heat Island Mitigation (HIM); Energy (EN); Water (WR); Waste (WS); Transportation (TR); Amenities (AM); Green Buildings (GB); Socio-Cultural (SCU) and Administrative (ADM). The next step in the process of the development of the new assessment system was to assign weights to the selected parameters and indicators. The weights were assigned to all the parameters and their indicators based on the expert opinion (Delphi) and fuzzy AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process). The weights obtained are LUO- 9.54%; SSP- 3.75%; VCM- 12.23%; HIM- 8.67; EN- 14.12; WR- 13.19%; WS- 4.96%; TR- 4.14%; AM- 3.57%; GB- 9.85%; SCU- 10.15% and ADM- 5.85%. The weights thus computed showed that EN is the most important parameter with 14 % weight, followed by WR and VCM with 13 % and 12 % weightage respectively. Further, quantitative data for each selected parameters and its indicators were obtained from the eight selected campuses through surveys, documentation and direct observations. The selected eight campuses were then ranked using TOPSIS (The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) using the data collected during the survey and weights obtained in the research. It was observed that IITD topped the charts followed by PEC, GZSCCET and DCRUST. It was observed that water and waste are the most neglected parameters in most of the campuses under study. However, there was a mixed response for all the other parameters and their indicators. Further, the data obtained from the campuses for each indicator along with the standards available for the indicators in the literature was used to arrive at the benchmarks for the indicators The value of the benchmarks was assigned scores based on weights obtained. Furthermore, thus an assessment system was developed. Finally, all the eight campuses were scored and ranked based on this new assessment system developed. It was observed that all the campuses scored less than 50% of the total score. IITD and DCRUST are the first ranked campuses with a score of 47%, followed by GZSCCET and PEC with a score of 46 % and 45 % respectively. The rank of these campuses was higher due to their focus on most of the parameters and above-average performance in the parameters with high weightage such as EN, WR and VCM. It is recommended to improve the status of all the parameters in the campuses through regular measuring and monitoring of the SD achieved on the campus periodically based on the new assessment system. Holistic, sustainable development should be the focus of development. Compact planning with high density and high rise buildings; advanced pervious materials and open grid pavements; plantation along the roads and shading of hard surfaces by planting native trees or structures with solar panels should be the focus of new development on the campuses. It is also recommended to promote free sustainable transportation on the campus. Purchasing renewable energy, water metering, rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment Plant (STP) should be present on the campus. Dedicated solid waste management (SWM) system for campuses should be developed which should be adopted by each campus. Construction of certified green buildings and retrofitting the existing buildings with green features on the campus should be promoted. All the basic amenities should be made available to the CCMs on the campus. Socio-cultural initiatives such as community schooling, developing facilities for local people, etc. should be undertaken to improve socio-cultural sustainability. The campus should be retrofitted with features for the ease of the differently-abled. This thesis presents the development of a new assessment system for sustainable site development of education campuses in India. It also presents the results of the assessment of the sustainability-related performance of Indian Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) based on the parameters and indicators of the new assessment system developed in this study along with the recommendations for future development.