An EcoCampus Award Ceremony was held on the International Campus, Zhejiang University on January 3, 2019 at the Campus library. Dr. Peter Redfern, Chief of the EcoCampus Institute and Principal Lecturer of Nottingham Trent University, presented the International Campus an EcoCampus Silver Award Certificate of Registration during the ceremony, making the International Campus the first EcoCampus-certified higher education institution in China.
The EcoCampus National Award Scheme, funded by British government's Higher Education Fund Committee and recognized by the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency, is a worldwide recognized certification organization for sustainable campus. It complies with the international environmental management standard ISO 14001:2015. One third of the universities in UK are members of the EcoCampus system.
“Eco-friendly,” “low-carbon,” and “people-centered” are key considerations in the International Campus development. Hence, the International Campus has set its objectives to achieve sustainable campus construction and implemented corresponding measures since its early days. Solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, ground source heat pumps, and air source heat pumps are producing as high as 6.69 million kWh of renewable energy every year. The “Sponge Campus” is capable of reusing rainwater, saving 100 thousand tons of water yearly. The high-efficiency air-conditioning and lighting systems optimize Campus energy utilization and reduce the carbon emission.
Professor KC Ting, Vice Dean of International Campus, accepted the award on behalf of the Campus. “International Campus’ EcoCampus certification is a great recognition of our constant pursuit of Internationalization and Sustainability,” said Professor Ting, “We will see this as a new start and a new opportunity for us to deliver the environmental concept to all faculty, staff, and students on our Campus, as well as to all campus visitors and the communities surrounding us. We hope to set an example of campus internationalization and sustainability for all universities in China.”
Dr. Peter Redfern delivered a lecture on “Sustainable Environment Development” after the certificate presentation. Representatives from Campus departments and administrative/service units participated in the ceremony.
(Source: Office of Campus Development and Management; Author: Guanhua Zhang; Photos: Minfang Lu; and Editor: Ping Xia)