Cultivate a Greener University

Our Goals

  1. Sustainable energy use
  2. Sustainable construction and refurbishment
  3. A zero waste campus
  4. Sustainable water management
  5. Sustainable procurement
  6. Sustainable investing

What we have done

1. Sustainable energy use

  • Expanded onsite solar generation capacity by maximising available roof space.

  • Changed all lights to LED.

  • Upgraded air handling units.

  • Installed electric vehicle charging points.

2. Sustainable construction and refurbishment

  • Utilised new technologies and methodologies in the construction of our new buildings - SMU Connexion and School of Social Sciences/College of Integrative Studies, to reduce embodied carbon and energy efficiency, and increase construction productivity.

    • Prefabricated mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and Design for Manufacturing Assembly methodology were employed in the construction of new buildings - SMU Connexion and School of Social Sciences/ College of Integrative Studies.  

    • Mass Engineered Timber in a hybrid system comprising Cross Laminated Timber floor slab with prefabricated steel structure in the new buildings, reducing overall embodied carbon.

    • Enhanced Passive Displacement Cooling (EPDC) to cool the entire building.

3. Zero waste campus

  • Phased out single-use plastics and utensils and packaging that are not environmentally friendly from all retail, and food and beverage tenants.

  • Installed food waste digesters.

  • Installed e-waste collection for personal electronic items and used batteries.

  • Conducted food waste reduction and segregation campaigns.

4. Sustainable water management

  • Converted underground water tanks into rainwater harvesting tanks, reusing water collected for landscape irrigation.

  • Installed system to collect condensate water from air handling units for landscape irrigation.

  • Installed water meters on campus to monitor and manage water usage effectively.

5. Sustainable procurement

  • Developed sustainable procurement framework in alignment with UN SDGs and encouraged suppliers to adopt the framework.

  • Assessing supply chain emissions.

6. Sustainable investment

  • Conducted a baseline assessment of financed emissions.

  • Developed a standard ESG template for manager due diligence to engage and understand managers' consideration of ESG factors in their investment process.