Sustainability - Climate Action Policy

Policy Statement

As it engages with the world, An-Najah National University will continue as a leader in promoting and practicing sustainability. The University defines sustainability as balancing the needs and aspirations of the present with the preservation of choices for the future.

The University’s students, faculty and staff act on this commitment to sustainability in many ways: teaching, research and sharing of knowledge related to a healthy and safe environment; an ecological footprint that is respectful of nature, including people- and planet-friendly supplies and buildings; and fiscal and policy decisions that encourage judicious use of resources.

An-Najah University as part of its commitment to climate change and sustainable development, engages in periodic energy, environmental and green audits as a continuous process to review and monitor its infrastructure, leading to a substantial reduction in its carbon footprint. 

Purpose

1. Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Reduce “Carbon footprint” by aiming for net-zero emissions of institution-linked greenhouse gases across administrative, academic and residential, and recreational facilities, with emphasis on utilizing public transport.

2. Energy and Resource Efficiency: Adopt low-carbon operational practices in all campus buildings and infrastructure to achieve carbon neutrality by investing in energy conservation by promoting renewable energy sources and optimizing resource consumption.

3. Water and Waste Management: Adopt efficient water conservation and management practices, along with sustainable waste management practices on campus.

4. Societal action, Awareness and Education for sustainability: Improve awareness of climate change through sustained, active learning activities, connected to local problem-solving and people’s behavior. 

5. Enhance awareness and understanding of the adaptation and mitigation of climate risk and environmental issues among the staff, students, and stakeholders through effective teaching-learning processes and investing in community activities and projects through multiple co-curricular, extracurricular, and inter-collegiate activities.

6. Collaboration and Partnerships: Foster collaborations across stakeholders, to leverage the expertise of environmental auditors, community organizers, industry professionals, and policymakers to support a more systematic and deeper inquiry on issues of climate change, low-carbon energy, carbon neutrality, and carbon sequestration. 

7. Review, Monitoring and Reporting: Establish robust processes to review, track and monitor the performance of key indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions, carbon emission, energy consumption, water usage, and waste generation and management.

8. Adaptation and Resilience: Adopting sustainable practices in design, construction, and management to create a built environment, and build resilience through green ways of lifestyle to cope with the local effects of climate change and develop a campus climate action plan for disaster risk reduction.

9. Integrate environmental education and sustainable practices in curricula and research: Impart Climate Change Education (CCE) through advanced curriculum, imparted through formal, informal, and non-formal learning and teaching approaches, including field projects, international Case Studies, and higher-degree research. To develop credit and value based courses and invest in thrust areas of climate change and sustainable development through multidisciplinary research.

10. Promote research aligned to SDGs: To identify the environmental issues in local and neighborhood settings and carry out research and solution identification through intellect capital and capacity building. To pursue research on climate change and its impacts, with an emphasis on mitigation and adaptation.

Scope

This Policy shall apply to all faculty members/scientists/ staff, research scholars and students at An-Najah National University and its campuses.

Procedure/Practices:

One of the core values of An-Najah National University is “Environmental Responsibility”. The University is acutely aware of its environmental responsibilities and embraces principle of sustainable development to ensure that any adverse environmental impact of its activities is minimized.

The procedures/ practices followed by the University is as under.

1. Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) targets.

2. Develop an action plan: Create a detailed roadmap outlining strategic initiatives that will enable the University to achieve its targets. Assign responsibilities, resources, and timelines for implementation for effective utilization of resources and invest in effective monitoring and feedback processes with available benchmarks, and set feasible goals for the future.

3. Adopt sustainable practices in all the operations at all levels of the university, including education, transportation, thermal control, water conservation and management, waste management, etc.

4. Invest in renewable energy, such as clean energy, and SMART technologies, to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Promote sustainable transportation by encourage the use of public transportation, carpooling, and walking among the staff and students. Provide infrastructure and incentives to support sustainable transportation options and establish realistic and measurable targets to reduce the carbon footprint.

6. Implement effective solid waste management and liquid waste (Black and Grey water) management, strategies, and technologies to reduce waste generation, collect, segregate, recycle, and generate energy from waste. Responsible disposal of hazardous and bio-medical waste.

7. Water Conservation and management and reducing water consumption by using low-flow fixtures and reuse of black and grey water. Installation of efficient fixtures to reduce water consumption and wastage, rainwater harvesting pits to collect surface discharge, water treatment for reuse in the landscape, use of indigenous plant species with high APTI index to reduce air pollution and plant species which contribute to effective carbon sequestration.

8. Continuous monitoring and improvement: Regularly assess and evaluate the effectiveness of the University’s initiatives, identify areas for improvement, and adapt strategies through periodic audits to assess the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives and compliance with established standards to achieve the SDGs.

9. Stakeholder engagement: Engage and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to foster a culture of environmental responsibility and gather diverse perspectives and ideas.

10. Curriculum Design and Research Projects: Courses on sustainable development and climate change to be integrated into the curriculum to raise awareness and sensitivity. Further research may be encouraged and undertaken to engage in research and consultancy projects in areas connected to sustainable development and climate risk reduction, alternative energy research and innovation on clean energy and alternative energy sources.

11. Community Engagement and Outreach: The university can initiate community outreach and awareness programs involving students, faculty, and staff. Knowledge sessions, training sessions, and workshops may be organized, and Consultancy projects may be undertaken in collaboration with government or private organizations to raise community awareness and engagement.

Responsibilities:

1. President

• As the Head and Chief Officer of the University, provides leadership, commitment and support for the University’s Climate Action and Sustainability Policy.

2. University Sustainability Advisory Committee 

   1. Provide strategic oversight of the University commitment to sustainability as set out in the University Climate Action and Sustainability Policy.

   2. Undertake high level strategic analysis to inform decision-making in the allocation of resources for the implementation of sustainable operations across University.

   3. Recommend for approval and drive forward sustainability-related policies, procedures and action plans. Play a key role in development of strong governance structures and support the integration of sustainability and climate action into daily business at all levels of the University.

Effective Date: October 12, 2016

Review Date: Jun 15, 2023