SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 12.1Research for a circular economy

Open 12.1 Research as a separate report

UPES research turns waste into resources, from sewage and electronics to textiles, food and wood, and studies what makes people choose greener products.

The figures below cover UPES research publications on responsible consumption and production from 2021 to 2025 (source: Scopus, October 2026).

What the research covers

Number of 2021–2025 papers on each theme (a paper can appear under more than one).

Most cited work on waste and resources

1. Perspective review on Municipal Solid Waste-to-energy route: Characteristics, management strategy, and role in circular economy (Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022), cited 305 times.
2. Agro-waste to sustainable energy: A green strategy of converting agricultural waste to nano-enabled energy applications (Science of the Total Environment, 2023), cited 262 times.
3. Waste to energy status in India: A short review (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014), cited 255 times.
4. Biochar application for greenhouse gas mitigation, contaminants immobilization and soil fertility enhancement: A state-of-the-art review (Science of the Total Environment, 2022), cited 253 times.
5. Metal-Organic Framework-Based Materials for Wastewater Treatment: Superior Adsorbent Materials for the Removal of Hazardous Pollutants (ACS Omega, 2023), cited 246 times.

The full list of 748 publications since 2007, with links, is on the responsible consumption research publications page (also available as a spreadsheet).

Research spotlights

More waste-to-value work

• Materials from waste. Waste utilisation through biomass nanocomposites, and plastic-free and chemical-free toys made from waste wood.
• Bamboo. Workshops bring artisans and technical experts together to develop value-added bamboo products.
• Student and faculty inventions. Edible cutlery to replace plastic, zero-waste handmade gifts from design students, bio-briquettes from chir pine needles and a solar charging tree.
• Alumni enterprise. From And To Nature, a start-up by UPES alumni supported through UPES incubation, makes reusable bamboo water bottles with local artisans.

Patents and intellectual property

UPES holds 2,314+ intellectual property rights, made up of 813 patents, 943 designs and 558 copyrights, with 139 granted (December 2025).

SDG 12.2Less waste, fewer resources on campus

Open 12.2 Campus waste and water as a separate report

UPES separates, composts and recycles its waste, and has cut water use sharply.

• Plastic-free campus. The sustainability policy commits UPES to a plastic-free, clean campus, with signs at entrances reminding visitors.
• Sort at source. Following the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste are segregated on campus.
• Safe disposal. Wastewater is treated before disposal, and care is taken to keep contamination out of natural water sources.
• Compost. Composting and sustainable disposal are promoted for biodegradable waste.
• Safe e-waste disposal. An e-waste collection and disposal system works with certified recyclers.
• Paper reborn. The Waste-Paper Recycling Laboratory turns discarded campus paper into pencils, jewellery and stationery, and trains rural women to make them.
• Saving water. After testing showed the water supply was safe to drink, UPES removed its reverse-osmosis purifiers, saving about 30 million litres of water a year. As a zero water discharge campus, it reuses treated water, including 250 kilolitres used in horticulture.
• Students lead the way. The GreenUp club runs clean-ups, tree planting and awareness campaigns on segregation and responsible consumption.

Waste policy

The UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy (2025) sets out how the university handles waste:

• Reduce, reuse, recycle. The 3Rs, segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, and composting and sustainable disposal (§5.3.1).
• Hazardous and electronic waste. An e-waste collection and disposal system with certified recyclers and responsible disposal of electronic equipment (§5.3.3).
• Plastics and disposables. A plastic-free, clean campus (§5.4), with paperless administration and digital documentation to cut paper use (§5.5).
• Monitoring. The policy provides for regular monitoring of resource consumption and environmental performance, with periodic reporting of progress (§6, §7).

SDG 12.3Sustainable purchasing

Open 12.3 Purchasing as a separate report

UPES's Sustainable Procurement Policy builds environmental, social and economic criteria into what the university buys and who it buys from.

• Greener products. Preference for goods and services with low environmental impact across their lifecycle, eco-friendly materials and packaging, less waste, energy use and emissions, and fewer single-use plastics.
• Fair supply chains. Suppliers are expected to respect fair labour practices, safe working conditions and human rights, and their environmental performance is taken into account.
• Fewer disposables across the supply chain. Because the policy's criteria apply to what UPES buys and who it buys from, its preference for less packaging and fewer single-use items, and its expectations on labour and environmental performance, extend to suppliers of goods and services.
• Local and small businesses. The policy favours local and regional suppliers where possible, engages small and diverse suppliers, and builds long-term partnerships with sustainable suppliers.
• Compliance and transparency. UPES follows applicable laws and standards, reports on its sourcing practices and audits them regularly.

SDG 12.4Learning to consume and produce responsibly

Open 12.4 Education as a separate report

UPES teaches students and professionals how to use resources well and run organisations sustainably.

• Across the curriculum. UPES offers courses, degrees and programmes in climate science, renewable energy, sustainability and environmental studies, and students are encouraged to design eco-friendly products such as edible cutlery and zero-waste gifts.
• For professionals. The RISE Centre, launched with Aspire Impact in September 2024, ran the ESG, Sustainability and Impact Specialist Programme with Mahindra University on net zero, carbon neutrality and circular-economy strategy, and offers learning on AI for sustainability and green technology.

SDG 12.5Reuse and responsibility in the community

Open 12.5 Community as a separate report

UPES takes waste reduction, reuse and sustainable production into nearby villages, schools and partner organisations.

• Cleaner villages. Through Project Swachhata, volunteers carry out sustained cleaning of the community areas next to the campuses, in support of the Clean India mission.
• Giving things a second life. In partnership with Goonj since 2022, UPES joins DaanUtsav each year, collecting clothes, books and essentials for reuse, including winter clothing for an old age home, Cheshire Home and a slum community in Dehradun.
• Students in the field. UPES reports more than 5,000 student internships with 1,230 partner organisations through the Srijan Social Internship, including work on environmental conservation.
• Pencils from paper. Project Vikalp, a student-driven social enterprise, trains rural women to make woodless pencils and crafts from recycled paper.
• Clean production in Ladakh. Project Artisan builds design skills among women weavers in a remote Ladakh village for the collective production and sale of carpets made on traditional back-strap looms.
• Industry partner. A February 2024 MoU with Organic Recycling Systems Ltd, a waste management company, covers joint research in materials science, sustainability, engineering and renewable energy, dissertations, internships and publications.

SDG 12.6Measuring and planning ahead

Open 12.6 Planning ahead as a separate report

UPES tracks energy, water and waste, and is building tools to manage them better.

• Green Dashboard. The RISE Centre is building a live dashboard of energy, water and waste data to track progress and involve the campus community.
• Published sustainability reporting. UPES became the first Indian university to earn Aspire Impact's Gold Leaf certification for sustainability impact, and under its 2025 policy it will publish an annual energy and carbon report covering energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and progress against targets (§7).
• Sustainability Living Lab. A planned space on campus to test and demonstrate circular-economy ideas and sustainable technology.
• Energy. A 100 kW solar plant has met about 8% of campus electricity demand, alongside 61,500 litres of solar water heating, and a unity power factor is maintained to avoid energy losses.

Events and activities

Open Events and activities as a separate report

3 events from UPES schools and departments support this goal. Each event has its own report with a description, photograph and, where one exists, a link to the original post.

School of Design · 5th–6th June 2025

Design thinking for sustainable change at Kingston University

Abhishek Kumar of the School of Design presented his paper at the 9th International Conference of Marketing, Strategy and Policy at Kingston Business School, London, on 5–6 June 2025.

SDG 4SDG 12SDG 17

Event report → · Original post

School of Health Sciences and Technology

Reimagining responsibility with Goonj

The School of Health Sciences and Technology and Goonj held a session on volunteerism, circular responsibility and sustainable giving for health sciences students.

SDG 3SDG 11SDG 12

Event report → · Original post

School of Law · 16th September 2024

Ozone Day awareness event

On 16 September 2024, the School of Law held an event on protecting the ozone layer, with Dr Rakesh Kapoor, Special Secretary (retd.), Government of India.

SDG 12SDG 13SDG 16

Event report → · Original post

All sources

Open All sources as a separate report

Every website and document used in this report, and the sections it supports. Each initiative and event also has its own page, linked from its name in the report.