Towards sustainable campus environment case study of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Campus, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Abstract

There are many important criteria that should be taken into consideration to make a sustainable campus environment. Among them are bringing ideas together with consumers, designing spaces that are not only just for the facility, balancing flexibility and control on campus, enhancing the relationship with the environment, planting of plants and reducing traffic jams of vehicles. It is also the responsibility of the university's top management to increase the quality of life on campus that is essential for students. This paper highlights some of the environmental problems found in the campus mainly at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. These include vehicle problems, not enough outdoor areas for students to do work and other activities, unfriendly pedestrian walkways, and high buildings' maintenance cost. With the recent government calls to conserve energy and to manage buildings together with their surrounding context to be more sustainable, it has led the top management in UTM to outline a sustainability campus policy since the year 2010. This UTM Campus Sustainability policy is an initiative in turning UTM as a great stakeholder to actively participate in economic activities in order to facilitate environmental management. It also aims to ensure UTM to be operated in a more sustainable manner thus contributing to reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and other negative effects. Various strategies have been established and implemented to improve the quality of student life on campus such as encouraging students to cycle or walk to their respective faculties, increasing green spaces on campus, eliminating non- biodegradable food and beverage packaging and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle within a secure environment.