The meaning of green campus in UI GreenMetric World University Rankings perspective

Abstract

The higher education institution sector has recently been recognized as an in-fluential hub for sustainability innovation and education by considering the most critical sustainability challenges. It represents an invaluable chance to facilitate the essential generational change towards a more sustainable approach in life. Universities provide innovative approaches to sustainable development by pushing the envelope of practice and exploring new frontiers of knowledge. Furthermore, these institutions pave the way for breakthroughs and trend-setting findings to be transitioned to other implementations within the built environment; hence, communities become capable of learning and gradually developing the culture of sustainability. On a global scale, numerous universities have embarked on mis-sions to create green campuses, known as a way to seek sustainability initiatives in universities. This research aims to expose the definitions and parameters of the green campus approach from the viewpoint of UI GreenMetric World University Rankings as one of the assessment tools specializing in evaluating green campus initiatives. This research shows that the GreenMetric functions as a guide which encourages universities to integrate sustainable development into their practices; since its categories are devised following sustainable development goals. In this research, the green campus approach is defined through investigating the Green-Metric approach regarding sustainability on university campuses by clarifying the reasons for its categorization that encompasses all university dimensions, including education, research, operation, outreach, assessment, and reporting. The study is conducted through an integrated review of literature focusing on higher education institutions’ sustainability to investigate the green campus concept’s historical, contextual, and evolving nature.