Creating a low-carbon campus in Chaoyang University of Technology (CYUT)

Abstract

Founded in 1994, the campus of Chaoyang University of Technology (CYUT) is located in the suburban area of Taichung, Taiwan. In 2009, the president of CYUT signed the Talloires Declaration to show his commitment for promoting environmental sustainability on campus. In 2012, CYUT and many other universities in Taiwan cofounded the Green University Union of Taiwan (GUUT) to collaboratively promote the concept of environmental sustainability. Following the announcement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations in 2015, CYUT has been putting a lot of effort into converting itself into a green university. Four different fields of management, which are energy and resources management, accident prevention and rescue management, occupational safety and health management, and environmental management, have been promoted in the campus of CYUT for this cause. Furthermore, four management practices including implementing management systems, organizing green courses, promoting green activities and creating green environment, have been applied to improve the effectiveness of the campus management. In the case of energy and resources management in particular, not only ISO 50001 and 14001 management systems were implemented but also an intelligent energy network (iEN) was established for maintaining effective usage of the campus energy. For years of striving in creating a green university, CYUT had several remarkable accomplishments. The green open space ratio in campus is 94.43%. Water-saving equipment was installed in the whole campus and reclaimed water is collected for urban reuse. Garbage reduction and classification have been enforced to make ease for later treatments. For issues related to energy and climate change, strategies, such as renewal of high energy consuming facilities, installation of green roofs, utilization of recycle energy and education of staffs were enacted and the consumed energy in campus gradually decreased in recent years. For example, the electricity and oil (including gasoline and diesel) consumption in campus of 2017 were 7.59% and 14% lower than those of 2016, respectively. In order to overcome the challenges from climate change, CYUT will continue on its process of creating a low-carbon campus focusing on energy sustainability.