SDG 13.2Cutting emissions on campus
UPES has measured its carbon footprint and is cutting it through solar power, efficiency, electric mobility and greener buildings.
8,271tonnes CO₂e baseline, 2024–25
20–25%emissions cut targeted by 2030
100 kWrooftop solar, with 300–400 kW planned
61,500 Lsolar water heating
- A plan with targets. The RISE Centre's Climate Action Plan sets a 2024–25 baseline of 8,271 tCO₂e, a 20–25% cut by 2030, 30–40% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and net zero by 2060, with a live Green Dashboard to report progress and a permanent Climate Action Task Force of leaders, academics, operations staff and students.
- Measuring emissions. An energy audit and greenhouse gas inventory prepared in line with ISO 14064-1 tracks diesel generators, LPG, university vehicles and refrigerants (Scope 1), grid electricity (Scope 2) and air travel (Scope 3), and models how larger solar systems would cut emissions.
- Clean power. A 100 kW rooftop solar plant has met about 8% of campus electricity demand and doubles as a training facility for students, alongside 61,500 litres of solar water heating and a self-powering solar tree.
- Using less. UPES retrofits conventional lights, maintains a unity power factor to avoid energy losses, and plans smart controls and more efficient lighting and air-conditioning systems.
- Electric mobility. Students built U-BAHN, an electric campus vehicle with an 85 Ah battery and IoT location tracking, and an electric bicycle that reaches 30–35 km/h with a range of 70–80 km.
- A living lab. UPES is turning its campus into a Sustainability Living Lab for developing and testing solutions, and plans to invest in verified nature-based offsets such as regional afforestation for emissions that are hard to cut.