SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 12.1Research for a circular economy

Open 12.1 Research on its own page

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

• Sewage into water, fuel and fertiliser. Prof Bhawna Yadav Lamba leads a first-of-its-kind pilot in which a 20,000-litre open pond uses microalgae to treat sewage from a nearby canal. The algae become bio-oil through hydrothermal liquefaction, and the remaining sludge becomes biogas and bio-manure. Backed by a ₹73 lakh DST grant, the system has reached Technology Readiness Level 7. Source: UPES researcher leads first-of-its-kind wastewater reclamation project.

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• Managing electronic waste. UPES researchers reviewed where e-waste comes from, how it harms health and the environment, how it is assessed and governed, and how it can be managed (Sustainability, 2023), and contributed to the 2025 book E-Waste: From Generation to Management. Source: Sustainability, 2023, E-Waste (2025).
• Why consumers struggle to recycle e-waste. A UPES study found that Indian consumers who care about the environment still face practical barriers to using formal e-waste collection schemes (Cleaner Waste Systems, 2025). Source: Cleaner Waste Systems, 2025.
• Textiles back into the loop. Dr Shailey Singhal studies how garment-industry textile waste can be managed scientifically and upcycled into valuable materials, including extracting microcrystalline cellulose from textile waste (New Journal of Chemistry, 2026). Source: Textile waste: an increasing menace to the earth (ISAS proceedings, PDF).

More waste-to-value work

• Materials from waste. Waste utilisation through biomass nanocomposites, and plastic-free and chemical-free toys made from waste wood. Source: UPES Research.
• Bamboo. Workshops bring artisans and technical experts together to develop value-added bamboo products. Source: How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.
• 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. Source: UPES Research, How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.
• Alumni enterprise. From And To Nature, a start-up by UPES alumni supported through UPES incubation, makes reusable bamboo water bottles with local artisans. Source: How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.

Patents and intellectual property

• 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).Source: UPES R&D Newsletter, July–December 2025: IPR at UPES.

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SDG 12.2Less waste, fewer resources on campus

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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. Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES, Student facilities: Green Campus (PDF).

  

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• Sort at source. Following the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste are segregated on campus. Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.
• Safe disposal. Wastewater is treated before disposal, and care is taken to keep contamination out of natural water sources. Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.
• Compost. Composting and sustainable disposal are promoted for biodegradable waste. Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.
• Safe e-waste disposal. An e-waste collection and disposal system works with certified recyclers. Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.

  

• Paper reborn. The Waste-Paper Recycling Laboratory turns discarded campus paper into pencils, jewellery and stationery, and trains rural women to make them. Source: UPES SDG 12 report (PDF), UPES vision for sustainable impact (TheCSRUniverse).
• 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. Source: UPES SDG 12 report (PDF).
• Students lead the way. The GreenUp club runs clean-ups, tree planting and awareness campaigns on segregation and responsible consumption. Source: GreenUp Club environmental awareness drive (LinkedIn).

  See also: Ozone Day awareness event in Events and activities.

  

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). Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF).
• Hazardous and electronic waste. An e-waste collection and disposal system with certified recyclers and responsible disposal of electronic equipment (§5.3.3). Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.

  

• Plastics and disposables. A plastic-free, clean campus (§5.4), with paperless administration and digital documentation to cut paper use (§5.5). Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.

  

• Monitoring. The policy provides for regular monitoring of resource consumption and environmental performance, with periodic reporting of progress (§6, §7). Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF).

SDG 12.3Sustainable purchasing

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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. Source: UPES Purchasing Policy (PDF).
• 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. Source: UPES Purchasing Policy (PDF).
• 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. Source: UPES Purchasing Policy (PDF), Waste management and plastic reduction at UPES.
• 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. Source: UPES Purchasing Policy (PDF).
• Compliance and transparency. UPES follows applicable laws and standards, reports on its sourcing practices and audits them regularly. Source: UPES Purchasing Policy (PDF).

SDG 12.4Learning to consume and produce responsibly

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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. Source: UPES Climate Plan (PDF), How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.

  See also: Design thinking for sustainable change at Kingston University in Events and activities.

• 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. Source: RISE Centre at UPES, The RISE Centre at UPES launches sustainability programme (GUS news).

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SDG 12.5Reuse and responsibility in the community

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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. Source: How UPES is contributing to the SDGs, UPES vision for sustainable impact (TheCSRUniverse).

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• 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. Source: DSO Community Engagement & Social Impact Report, How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.

  See also: Reimagining responsibility with Goonj in Events and activities.

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• 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. Source: Srijan Social Internship, UPES vision for sustainable impact (TheCSRUniverse).

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• Pencils from paper. Project Vikalp, a student-driven social enterprise, trains rural women to make woodless pencils and crafts from recycled paper. Source: Project Vikalp.
• 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. Source: How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.
• 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. Source: UPES and Organic Recycling Systems MoU (Equitybulls).

SDG 12.6Measuring and planning ahead

Open 12.6 Planning ahead on its own page

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. Source: RISE Centre at UPES.
• 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). Source: UPES earns Gold sustainability impact certification (GUS news).
• Sustainability Living Lab. A planned space on campus to test and demonstrate circular-economy ideas and sustainable technology. Source: RISE Centre at UPES.
• 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. Source: UPES Energy, Environment & Sustainability Policy, 2025 (PDF), How UPES is contributing to the SDGs.

  

Events and activities

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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.

This event also supports SDG 4 and SDG 17.

Event report → · Original post

Featured in: Across the curriculum.

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.

This event also supports SDG 3 and SDG 11.

Event report → · Original post

Featured in: Giving things a second life.

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.

This event also supports SDG 13 and SDG 16.

Event report → · Original post

Featured in: Students lead the way.

All sources

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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.