Green Initiatives and its Outcome in Higher Education Institutions in Erode District

Abstract

Techno economic growth without planning leads to deterioration of environment and depletion of natural resources. Degradation of natural resources causes damage to ozone shield which raises the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It causes many chain link effects. Knowledge on environment is the need of the hour and it is necessary to create awareness among the public especially among younger generation. Reuse and Recycling of waste water, creating environment awareness, effective utilization of natural resources and public education are the basic needs which help to protect the environment. Environment education is the effective remedy to solve the problem and it is mandatory for the educational institutions to incorporate environment education in their syllabi. Moreover, green concept, environment audit are also to be introduced in the campus. In this backdrop, the present study deals with the possibilities of implementing green campus concept and benefits achieved from such implementation in higher educational institutions. A sample of fourteen out of seventeen arts and science colleges situated in Erode district were selected for the present study, excluding three colleges which were found to be in infant stage. Factor analysis was used to identify the most beneficial factor enjoyed by the institutions. Principal Component Analysis method was also applied to extract the major factors by Vari Max rotation. The variables identified are the key factors which can be concentrated on more by the educational institutions to save the environment.