The genesis for a sustainable campusKampusSejahtera KampusLestari

About the cover

Padang Minden or the Minden Green, is the prideof USM. A well-kept manicured sports field whichis protected from development, it is the only grasslawn on campus which receives plentiful supplyof water during the dry spells to maintain a highquality surface for sporting activities. Nevertheless,grass lawns on campuses are also a symbol ofthe struggle to achieve sustainability whilebalancing the need for esthetics and socialdevelopment.

Kampus Sejahtera Kampus Lestarithe genesis for a sustainable campus

Corporate & Sustainable Development DivisionUniversiti Sains Malaysia

A Consultative Document

August 2007

Draft version 1.1

edited byLee Lik MengMasrah Abidin

Dzulkifli Abdul Razak

This book marks a major milestone in our efforts to beata path through the relatively uncharted waters ofsustainable development, especially in the context of auniversity campus.

Our efforts began from the inception of this universityin 1969 but along the way we became distracted andwas caught up in a race to become bigger. Our studentand staff population have grown in leaps and boundsputting pressure to expand our physical facilities. Hugemature trees have been cut down and elegant oldbuildings demolished to make way for new and biggerbuildings. Our returning alumni are often astonished atthe relentless pace of growth and lament at the loss ofcherished memories, spaces and views.

In 2001 we embarked on a series of initiatives to becomesocially responsible even as we grow. One such initiativewas Kampus Sejahtera which over the past 6 yearshave supported numerous projects towards achievingwhat we originally called a “Healthy Campus”. KampusSejahtera has now evolved to embrace ecologicalprotection, conservation of resources and humandevelopment which is the accepted framework forachieving sustainability on campus. This inauguraldocument records our achievements so far and alsoserves as a platform to move forward. Much more needsto be done to achieve sustainability. Everyone includingstudents and staff must come forward to make thishappen.

Kampus Sejahtera, a uniquely USM brand inclusive ofdeveloping a sustainable campus, is our beacon. Theyare embedded in USM, The University in a Garden.

Dzulkifli Abdul Razakvc@usm.my

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1 Setting the Stage for Sustainability

The state of Spaceship Earth 1What is sustainability 2What is a sustainable campus 3Universiti Sains Malaysia 5Kampus Sejahtera 7

2 Success Stories & Initiatives

Governance & Policy 13Income & Investment 15Purchasing & Materials 16Community, Health & Well-being 17Waste Management 21Space, Transportation & Planning 23Water 27Noise 28Energy 29Air quality & Indoor environment 31Teaching, Research & Publication 33Outreach Programmes 37

3 Moving Forward : Assessment Framework

How do we move forward? 41Assessment framework 43Prioritising projects 44Sustainable campus policies 45Key persons 47

Contact 48

The debate is over :

Global Warming is Real

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Global warming, climate change, depletion of fishstocks and fossil fuel reserves and irreversibleloss of biodiversity. These are some of the majorvisible consequences to the ecosystems in ourinnocuous march towards better quality of life forthe people on Earth. Our current model ofdevelopment is unsustainable because it placesincreasing burdens on our planet beyond itscapacity to regenerate. While the developed anddeveloping nations continue to prosper we also

the state of the spaceship earth

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see a “world where over a billion people live onless than a dollar a day, more than 800 millionare malnourished, and over two and a half billionlack access to adequate sanitation”1.

Increasing

wealth has depleted our environmental resourcesbut extreme poverty leaves the poor with no optionbut to deplete their local environment merely tosurvive. A world with two extremes of prosperityand poverty is unsustainable.

The Dymaxion Map is an invention of Buckminster Fuller who coined the termSpaceship Earth. This map projection maintains the geometric integrity of

the land masses and shows the Earth as interconnected islands.1

The most quoted definition of sustainabledevelopment is “development which meets theneeds of the present without compromising theability of future generations to meet their ownneeds” (Brundtland Report, 1987).

what is sustainability?

Living within our environmental limits is the key tosustainable development. But it is increasinglyaccepted that protection of environmental resourcesalone is inadequate and must be balanced withtwo other objectives, that is, economic efficiencyand the well-being of all peoples. Thus ecologicalintegrity, social equity and economic prosperityhave become the three pillars of sustainablity.

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The university is seen as a microcosm of the localand global community. In the campus, socialrelationships thrive in the population, there aregoverning structures, resources are consume andwaste generated, and economic activities andtransactions take place. More significantly, theuniversity is a place where knowledge is createdand transferred and ideas and creative solutionstake root. The campus is a fertile ground wherethe seeds of social change are sowed amongstthe campus, local and global communities.Cultivating better and more informed decision-making is crucial to the achievement ofsustainability.

A sustainable campus is not only the protectionof the local ecosystem. One framework visualisesthe ecosystem enveloping and supporting thepeople within the campus community. Both sub-systems must be mutually supportive for the entiresystem to be healthy. Each of the subsystem hasfive major issues which must be monitored and

what is a sustainable campus?

assessed to achieve campus sustainability. Theecosystem comprises air, water, land, materialsand energy while the people system is made upof knowledge, community, health and well-being,governance and economy and wealth.

In operational terms campus sustainability mustinvolve three major activi t ies, namely,administration (or operations), education (oracademic departments) and research. It mustalso extend its reach to the local community. Theadministration’s actions have major impact onsustainability through appropriate design, repair,maintenance and renovation of buildings,landscaping, procurement policies, wastemanagement, energy management, transportationpolicies, health services and lodging, food andcatering services. Education is the key to changeunsustainable lifestyles. Students and staff mustbe provided with learning opportunities in the realworld environment to integrate knowledge andconcepts of sustainability to local practices and

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applications. Research at the university in theareas of ecology, environmental issues, greendesign, ethics, culture, food production and so onwill contribute to short and long-term impacts.The local community including alumni, the businesscommunity, utility suppliers, transportation

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providers, vendors, community organisations, andlocal chapters of professional associations cancontribute towards campus sustainability byproviding expertise and support. In turn, outreachprogrammes by the university will extendsustainability to the local community.

USM was first conceptualised as a universitycollege by a resolution of the Penang StateLegislative Assembly in 1962 with the foundationstone for the new campus was laid on 7th August1967. In 1969 a decision was made to incorporateit as a full-fledged university with a first intake of57 science undergraduates. Today, 37 years later,USM has close to 30,000 undergraduates andpostgraduates spread out in three campuses. Ofthis, 17% are pursuing Masters while about 5%are pursuing Ph.Ds. There are close to 1,300international students enrolled predominantly inpostgraduate programmes representing more than60 nationalities.

The three campuses house 24 Schools and anumber of Institutes, Service and Research Centresand Units which are staffed by a total of 7,200personnel of which 28% are academic staff.

The University operates on a little over half a billionringgit (RM) a year with most of its income comingfrom Government grants (about 91%) and a smallerportion from tuition fees (6%). About half of the

universiti sains malaysia

expenditure goes towards paying the emolumentfor the staff while one third is used for purchaseof services, supplies and capital assets.

In terms of land coverage, the main campus inPenang Island has expanded to a size of 239hectares in three phases. The University iscurrently committed to acquiring another piece ofland on Penang Island to develop as a ResearchPark. The other two campuses cover 73 hectares(Health Campus in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan) and130 hectares (Engineering Campus in NibongTebal, Penang). Another campus on the Mainlandat Bertam is being developed as the AdvancedMedical and Dental Institute while an existingCollege Campus on Penang Island is beingacquired to develop a Research Park based onsustainable development principles.

As the University grew its impact on theenvironment has also increased and will continueto increase unless policies and practices for asustainable campus is achieved. Informed andenlightened decisions that the University makes

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in procurement, acquisition, energy consumption,transportation policies, disposal of waste, designof new buildings, renovations, landscapemaintenance, introduction of new courses, increasein enrolment, staff recruitment and even the travel

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behaviour (especially by air) of its staff can allcontribute towards sustainability.

The issue confronting the University is how to growwithout increasing its ecological footprint.

Kampus Sejahtera, a uniquely USM innovation,was initiated by the current Vice-Chancellor in2001 as the Healthy Campus Programme. Butunlike the healthy campus programmes elsewhereincluding the USA, Kampus Sejahtera reachesbeyond health to include ideas for sustainabledevelopment.

Sejahtera in Malay embraces peace, harmony,tranquility, wellness and health. There is noequivalent word in the English language. As aconcept, Kampus Sejahtera is meant to guide theentire USM community from administrators, tolecturers, students and support personnel to focustheir commitment and responsibility to theuniversity. Every individual has a role to playthrough personal initiatives, positive attributes,pro-active actions and volunteersim in nurturingthe development of the campus. Team work isessential and must cut across departments andhierarchies to initiate new ideas to contribute tothe growth of the university. The idea of insourcingis an important mechanism for implementation totap academic and theoretical knowledge of inhouseexpertise for practical applications. Two otheraspects of the programme requires all initiatives

kampus sejahtera

to be data-driven, informed by analysis andmonitored with complete documentation. So farmore than 17 monographs and books have beenpublished under this programme.

Over a period of 6 years, Kampus Sejahtera hasfunded and collaborated on some 50 projectsranging from health and dental awarenesscampaigns, obesity and diabetes clinics, anti-tobacco campaigns, health screening, counseling,development of software and e-portals, energyaudits, use of solar energy, tropical architecture,slope monitoring, air quality monitoring,rehabilitation of lakes, accessibility for differently-abled persons, recycling, vermiculture, tree-planting, tree inventory using RFID, landscapeimprovements, transportation, road safety,conferences and training workshops. The amountexpended is very modest amounting to less than0.1% of the total annual expenditure of theuniversity. The long term gains and impact onthe health and well-being of the community andthe planet will however be tremendous. Tens, ifnot hundreds, of thousands of Ringgit were savedin consulting fees through this voluntary and in-sourcing approach.

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Kampus Sejahtera is not only limited to the projectsfunded by the programme. It is a framework whichencompasses five underlying values. The first isto create a mindset for every individual to takeresponsibility for the campus. The second valueseeks to create spaces, both physical and social,which are conducive for work, play and learning. Thirdly, the practices in the campus must promotethe ideals of sustainable development that isenvironmentally-friendly, pedestrian-friendly, work- and people-friendly as well as promote healthylifestyles. The fourth value is provision of qualityhealth and dental care services to students, staffand dependents of staff focussing on wellness.Finally, Kampus Sejahtera supports any activityor project which propagates the pursuit of asustainable campus. Such activities and projectsinclude every aspect of the University such asteaching, research, publication, training,administration, management, student-centredactivities, food and catering, transportation, wastemanagement, construction and maintenance andanything else which could conceivably contributeto kesejahteraan, healthy living and a sustainablelifestyle.

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sejahtera (Malay)

1. aman dan makmur (peace and prosperity)2. senang dan tenteram (harmony and tranquility)3. selamat (safe)4. bebas daripada kesusahan, bencana, gangguan

dll (free from hardship, disaster, obstacles, etc )

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Sustainable lifestyle requires each human beingto make better decisions. The University’sgovernance structure must empower the decision-makers to collectively strive and be accountablefor achieving sustainability goals and objectives.A sense of ownership and personal responsibilityand desire to contribute towards sustainability byevery stakeholder from professors to senioradministrators , students, staff and even visitorscan be facilitated by a participatory process inpolicy formulation. The USM ManagementOrganogram reflects the university’s desire tobreak away from the hierarchical structure reflectedin the traditional organisation chart.

In operational terms Kampus Sejahtera encourageseach staff to be proactive and to initiate actions orprojects in line with the conceptual frameworkprovided. Participatory planning have also beeninstituted in the numerous PIMPIN (literally, lead)workshops conducted by each School and Centrein collaboration with the Training Unit of theUniversity to formulate policies and strategic planssuch as the Student Development Policy (currentlyunder formulation by the Students Affairs and

governance & policy

Development Division) and the Futures of USMscenario planning workshops.

USM has not adopted any of the declarations forsustainable development (e.g. Kyoto Protocol,Halifax Declarations, Tallores Declaration, etc)but while working towards the formulation andadoption of a sustainable campus policy we haveby several significant Executive directives andactions to set the stage for a full fledge push forsustainability. These ground works include :

The Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Policy Addressin 2004 entitled “The University in a Garden: Synergy with Nature”

The Vice-Chancellor’s Annual Policy Addressin 2006 entitled “The Future of USM – Post-Tsunami Scenarios”

The publication of two editions of thecoffeetable book (2003, 2004) entitled “TheUniversity in a Garden”

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The expansion of responsibilities and renamingof the Corporate Development Division toinclude sustainable development to becomethe Corporate and Sustainable DevelopmentDivision in 2006.

Prohibition against the cutting down of any treewithout the written permission of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office

Energy inventory and space audits andnumerous other projects reported in thisdocument.

This document is another step in setting the stagefor the development and adoption of a sustainablecampus policy targetted for early 2008.

The publication of 17 monographs and aspecial-edition USM Diary in 2006 on theEfSD theme.

The setting up of Kampus Sejahteraprogramme in 2001 and appointment of aCoordinator.

The successful bid to become one of the sevenpioneer RCE (Regional Centre of Expertise)in the world in 2005. RCE Penang@USMis appointed by the United Nations University-Institute of Advance Studies (UNU-IAS) tospearhead education for sustainabledevelopment under the United Nation’sDecade of Education of SustainableDevelopment (2005 – 2014). A Coordinatorhas also been appointment for RCEPenang@USM.

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The bulk of the operating and developmentexpenditure at USM comes from the Governmentwith only 6% of its income derived from tuitionfees. USM, like all other public institutions of highereducation in Malaysia, is increasingly underpressure to generate revenue from other sourcesespecially through commercialisation of researchand the inventions of its staff. Its commercial arm,USAINS Holding Sdn Bhd, has also beenaggressively pursuing joint ventures with privatecompanies and providing seed money andinvesting to commercialise promising inventionsand ideas.

USM will in the future invariably have to relyincreasingly more on non-governmental funding.The decisions that the university makes as towhere to invest or who to accept monies from canconstitute a substantial part of its environmental

income & investments

and social footprint. The impacts may be feltupstream and downstream and may be difficult toquantify or evaluate in the social and environmentalcontexts.

USM is undertaking a rigorous corporate-socialresponsibility assessment of investment decisionsbeginning with divesting its investments in tobaccocompanies and does not support gambling andliquor counters as well.

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USM is contemplating implementing university-wide green procurement policies. One drawbackis that the cost for green purchasing is generallyhigher. Responsible purchasing for a largeinstitution like USM with its financial weight canhave tremendous impact in helping its constituentsto make better choices for sustainability.

Responsible purchasing does not extend only tothe buying of green products (such as recycledpaper) but must result in less consumption (suchas through reduction in purchase of paper andsavings). Buying of local produce is a key tosustainability as it is cheaper and reduces thenegative impact from long distance transportationfrom other countries or regions. Life cycleassessment can help to identify products whichpromote cradle-to-cradle production and theweighing in of the ecological impacts of materials

purchasing & materials

used for construction and the impacts on the healthof building occupants compared to the costs arepractices which can assist in the drive towardssustainability on campus.

It is now accepted that sustainable developmentcannot be achieved without a healthy population.At USM health and wellness is at the top of ourKampus Sejahtera agenda and since 2003 severalcycles of campaigns and clinics have beenconducted. By the end of 2007, the University willhave a completely new Wellness, Health andDental Services Centre to advance sustainablehealth and wellness in the campus community.

Sustainable Health

USM has embarked on an early interventionprogramme by conducting a Health Screeningprogramme for all first year students followed upwith counselling and treatment where necessary. In the first screening activity carried out on 3,818new students in 2002, almost one-third were foundto have various types of ailments of which themost common included urinary infection, near-sightedness and colour-blindness, high bloodpressure, anaemic and heart disease. Twostudents were found to be under treatment forcancer. These screenings have been carried out

community, sustainable health & wellness

every year since 2002 and cases which cannotbe treated at the USM Health Centre are referredto the General Hospital or the University TeachingHospital in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan for follow-up. There is so far no study or analysis of theimpact of these early interventions in terms ofimproving the quality of life of the patients.

A study by Malaysian Association for the Studyon Obesity (MASO) found that 21% of Malaysiansare overweight while 6% are obese with the trendbecoming more prominent among the youngsters.The problem is serious as there is a closerelationship between obesity and many chronicdiseases such as diabetes and hypertension. TheObesity Counselling Clinic employs small groupcounseling technique with emphasis on diet, weight

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management and monitoring, waist l inemeasurement, blood pressure, blood glucosecontrol, food preparation and exercise. Since thelaunching of the Obesity Counselling Clinic, manycampus residents have shown a gradual changetowards better healthy lifestyle. Other clinics whichhave been conducted are targetted at diabeticpatients while a more general Healthy Living andLifestyle Campaigns are targetted at the generalpopulat ion of the campus periodical ly.

Tobacco Free

The quit smoking clinics have also achieved somemeasure of success. Between 2002 and 2006,163 smokers registered for these clinics with a25% success rate in the number of participants

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who were able to kick the habit. Other activitiescarried for the anti-tobacco campaign are TobaccoFree Campaign every year in conjunction with WorldTobacco Free Day, roadshows to departments withknown high number of smokers, Fresh Breath Club(Kelab Nafas Baru) for ex-smokers and thescreening of first year students to check level ofnicotine in urine and in hair samples. USM’s QuitSmoking Clinic was the first in a local universityand has been recognised by the State HealthDepartment as the most exemplary in the State.Further studies by pharmacy students revealedthat personal counselling is the most effectivemethod followed by “counselling with gum andpatch”. These activities are coordinated by USM’sNational Poison Centre which is recognised byWHO as the clearinghouse on tobacco-relatedissues.

Dental Care

Dental care in the university was originally availableonly to the students but since 2006 the staff fromthe Dental Clinic have gone on a roadshow to thevarious Schools and Departments to offer talks tobe followed by clinical sessions at the clinic wherenecessary. This was prompted by new evidencelinking tobacco-related habits, chronic periodontisin adults with several i l lness includingcardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pulmonarydisease and pre-term low birth weight infants.Since September 2006, almost 600 staff haveattended the talks while almost 1,400 patientshave been treated at the dental clinic. About 126of these patients were found to have severegingivitis and periodontis.

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Warga Sejahtera (Student and FamilyCounselling)

Mental health and harmonious family life are alsoa concern for the university as these problemscan severely affect productivity and the health andwell-being of its staff and the performance ofstudents in their studies. Various workshops forstudents and staff have been conducted by trainedand experienced counsellors employed by USM.There is no data to show the level or extent ofstudents who suffer from stress due to workloador examinations but empirically is regarded ascommon during certain periods in the academicyear. Cases which are detected at the HealthCentre are usually referred for counselling firstbefore any medicat ion is prescr ibed.Conversations with medical officers on campusreveals that male staff, especially lecturers, seemto suffer from stress during the 4 months leadingto retirement as indicated by blood pressurereadings but the stress disappears after retirement. Women, on the other hand, seems to look forwardto retirement. USM has developed a programmewhere staff about to retire participate in workshopsto help them to deal with life during retirementincluding advice on how to deal with stress.

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH)Committee

This Committee is required by law and is chairedby the Vice-Chancellor at the University level withsimilar Committees at every department or School. The Occupational Safety and Health Unit servesas its secretariat headed by an OSH Officer. Itsscope is very wide to include security and safety,indoor air quality, noise abatement, fire prevention,accidents and mishaps within the campus, properprocedures for handling and disposing hazardouswaste especially those from laboratories, emergencyresponse and safety audits (such as proper storageand use of gas cylinders at canteens, maintenanceof fire extinguishers, emergency exits and lighting,use of protective headwear and clothing by staff,etc).

The Committee meets regularly to monitor thesituation in all the three campuses and take thenecessary precautionary or remedial steps whenrequired.

USM’s main campus in Penang Island spendsRM170,000 a year to pay contractors to collectand dispose of solid waste which includes garbagefrom the offices and hostels and yardwaste. Onaverage 4 or 5 garbage trucks of 5-ton capacityare required daily for this operation. This doesnot include organic waste from the canteens whichare disposed of by the respective foodstalloperators. This practice have been found to beunsatisfactory and efforts are underway to engagea contractor to collect and dispose of the canteenwaste in a proper manner. Despite the fact thatour own scientists have developed a successfulvermicompost technique which has been adoptedoutside of the campus we are still not able toundertake full-scale composting of organic wastewithin the campus because of constraints of site,logistics, human resource and funding.Nevertheless, efforts have been initiated to do iton a small-scale experimental basis to compostpart of the organic and yardwaste of the main

waste management

campus. In the longer term, the University canmake composting a major agenda to achieve zerowaste.

Over the last 5 years, Kampus Sejahtera hascollaborated with students from the School ofMass Communications to raise awareness onrecycling and these campaigns alone havemanaged to divert an increasingly large amountof waste from ending up in the landfill. The recycledmaterials are predominantly paper-based (90%)such as old newspapers, magazines, computerprintouts and white and coloured paper with metala distant second (4%). Only small amounts ofglass and plastic bottles have been collected.

These efforts must be sustained through rigorousand aggressive management practices andmonitoring of waste production. Though not oftenhighlighted, the reuse of envelopes for internalmail, printing on both sides of the paper and other

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forms of recycling and reuse have been in practiceon campus for many years. The effort is howevernot pursued consistently across all departmentsand there is no monitoring or record and nodeterrence for adopting such practices. Casualobservation of the garbage bags reveals thatpaper-based waste and plastic which can berecycled are still being sent to the landfills. Anaudit will be carried out to determine the extent towhich policies and good practices can be adoptedto both reduce waste and to prevent recyclablematerials from being treated as thrash.

As at 2007, 1492 units of obsolete computers inthe main campus have been sold to recyclingcontractors under our e-waste initiatives. Thecontractors refurbish or strip the computers forparts and other valuable or recyclable materialssuch as gold, plastic, aluminium and other metals.It is known there certain contractors send theseold computers or parts to recycling factories in

China where there has been reports of improperhandling of hazardous waste by the workers. Wemust make it our concern to know that the wastewe generate and sell to recycling companies donot become the source of pollution and occupationalhazards to workers anywhere in the world.

A group of lecturers and students have initiated aTraining of Trainers workshop facilitated by twozero-waste practitioners (Don and Mylene,www.greencrusaders.com) to teach USM staff andstudents the finer points of successful recyclingand to raise awareness amongst the campuscommunity. Their pilot project in June 2007 saved600 kg of waste from the land fill.

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The USM main campus on Penang Island waspreviously a British Army Camp built on undulatinggrounds in the early 1930s. When USM took overthe site in March 1971 all the existing colonialbuildings were refurbished for various usesincluding the library, tutorial rooms, hostels andoffices but several initial new buildings had to bepurposed-built such as lecture halls. The Vice-Chancellor’s office was a room in a water-towerwith a panaromic view of the channel and theMainland. USM’s roots therefore was very muchgrounded in sustainable development principles. Even as new buildings were constructed theywere all within short walking distances of eachother. The new lecture halls and library and severalSchools were located in the core area surroundedby hostels.

As USM grew, the campus expanded in size inan elongated manner stretching towards the hillson the west. In the process, the residential areasmoved further away from the academic coreresulting in issues related to movement of studentsbetween the halls of residence and the lecture

space, transportation & planning

theatres. Even though the distances are notextensively far the hot and humid weather is adeterrent for walking on campus while the hillyterrain makes cycling too strenuous for most.Efforts to design a walkable campus have yet tobear fruit but immediate steps are being taken toplant more shady trees along popular walkingroutes but it will take a few years for the trees tomature. The pressure to develop more physicalfacilities have also taken its toll on huge maturetrees which were unwittingly sacrificed for newbuildings and carparks while some old buildingswere demolished or rennovated without properregard for their intrinsic heritage character andvalue.

To stop the rot, a planning study was carried in2001 resulting in the formulation of various planningguidelines. Some of these were administrativelyadopted such as Green Areas protected fromdevelopment, the maintenance of soft:hard surfaceratio by building or rebuilding on the existingbuilding footprints and hard surfaces (such ascarparks) and no cutting down of trees without

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written approval of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office.

Subsequently, various other efforts were initiatedincluding a Space Audit which revealed practicesresulting in lecturers having multiple office spaces(academic, administrative, research) and teachingspaces left vacant because of poor reportingmechanism. The Main Campus is a gazetted birdsanctuary and our Durian-Bird Valley has been

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protected from development since the inceptionof USM. A study of the biodiversity of the maincampus in 2003 revealed that there are 130 speciesof plants, 17 species of mammals from 9 families,106 species of birds from 34 families, 26 speciesof reptiles from 11 families and 8 species ofamphibia from 4 families. In terms of the mammalsthe number of species inventorised on campusrepresents 40% of all mammals found in PenangState. Four of the species found on campus areprotected by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.According to the study, the diversity of birds oncampus is high and healthy when measured usingthe Shannon-Wiener and Simpson diversity indices.Studies by professors and post-graduate studentshave also been carried out to identify treesvulnerable to pest infestion. In 2006, a project wasinitiated to inventorise all trees on the main campususing RFID, GPS and GIS technologies. So far999 trees have been tagged but follow-up auditshows that the technology has not been perfectedyet with almost one quarter of the RFID tagsunreadable after implantation in the trees. Toeducate the campus community, name plates of

many species of trees have been attached to theirtrunks and branches. Since 2005, the threecampuses have made tree-planting a major eventduring the orientation week for new undergraduatesand in 2006 alone some 600 trees were plantedincluding several varieties of local fruits.

The Engineering Campus which is located on theMainland about 45 minutes to the south of themain campus was once an oil palm plantation sono virgin forest was cleared for the university’sexpansion. In fact, the masterplan incorporatedecologically-friendly engineering solutions for storm-water management involving a series of swales,underground storage and dry ponds to delay andpurify the water before discharge into constructedwetlands. Initial problems with flooding reportedin the local newspaper have since been resolvedwith repairs to some improperly constructed swales. The campus is on flat terrain suitable for cyclingwith extensive covered walkways to encouragewalking in traffic-free areas.

The major problem with vehicle movement on

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campus is mostly confined to the peak periods inthe morning and evenings when staff are gettingto and leaving their offices. The period in betweenhas moderate flow rising again during the lunchbreak. There is no policy to curtail vehicularmovement by staff but it has been the policy formany years to ban students from driving (bothmotorbikes and cars) on campus. An initiativewas made to introduce the idea of a car-freecampus a couple of years ago but this has notmoved forward because of issues related to finding

a viable alternative to the bus service currentlycontracted to transport the students from theirhostels to the lecture halls and Schools. Becauseof the hilly terrain of the main campus, the expertsare of the view that electric buses are under-powered.

None of the buildings are certified green but theVice-Chancellor has made a commitment to ensurethat our new Research Park will be planned anddeveloped according to sustainable developmentprinciples.

Over the last 4 years, the water bill for the maincampus has increased from RM 1.03 million in2004 to RM1.48 million in 2006 even though actualyearly consumption had decreased by 300 millionlitres over the same period. In terms of volumeof water used, the amount is very big at 1.4 billionlitres for 2006 or an average of 3.8 million litresper day. As a single consumer, USM Penang onaverage consumes 0.55% of the total State waterconsumption. This works out to be around 130litres per person per day (staff and students) butit must be remembered that the hostels are vacantfor around 4 months each year and staff alsoconsume water at home. In perspective, theaverage consumption in Penang is 280 litres perperson per day. The national average is higherat 310 litres per person per day which is 145 litresmore than the standard set by the United Nationsfor access to clean water.

Even though the consumption does not appear tobe high compared to State and National averages,the water authority has singled out USM as beinga prime candidate for conservation efforts. One

water

source of high water usage is the Astroturf for theHockey Stadium which requires large volumes ofwater to prevent the artificial grass from cracking. Another high volume user is the Padang Minden(sports field) which has to be maintained in pristinecondition and is the pride of the campus.Nevertheless, all other grass areas or lawns arenot watered.

Water conservation must be pursued vigorouslyby installing water meters at the Schools andhostels to enforce discipline through financialaccountability. Rain water harvesting has beensuccessfully carried out at our Engineering Campusand can also be pursued for maintenance of lawns.

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Noise within the campus comes mainly fromvehicular traffic and air-compressors of the air-handling units. Even though the noise level isgenerally low there are pockets of intense noiseespecially from air-conditioning units (which alsogenerates and transmit a lot of heat to adjoiningbuildings and pathways). An example is theimproper siting of the air-compressors at theSchool of Computer Science requiring remedialworks to bring the noise level to acceptablestandards. Policies to restrict the use ofmotorcycles not only reduces traffic congestionbut also the noise level on campus.

noise

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About 60% of energy is lost due to inefficientdesign and poor management in existingcommercial and public buildings in Malaysia. Goodhousekeeping in Energy Management Program(EMP) could save between 5-10% on electricitybill in most office building in Malaysia. Furthersavings can be achieved through otherimprovement measures on building, lighting andair-conditioning systems. USM main campus hascarried out an energy audit program as part oflong term EMP. A total of 260 buildings at the maincampus has been audited, categorised andanalysed. Building Energy Indexes have beencalculated and Energy Saving Measures (ESM)were identified.

As a result of the publication of the audit findings,users at the departmental level have become moreaware of their electricity consumption and variousmeasures have been implemented to conserveenergy such as switching off the lights and air-conditioning during lunch. Data showed that theconsumption in 2003 was 30.09 million kWj costingRM7.05 million while in 2004 the consumptionwent up to 33.59 million kWj at a cost of RM7.94

energy

million. By 2005, the main campus had managedto turn around the upward trend to bring in a costsaving of RM800,000 using only the soft approachwithout having to resort to changing to more energyefficient fittings. An audit is currently underwayto see whether the past savings have beensustained and this is facilitated by a centralisedcomputer system which records electricityconsumption at various Schools and Centres.

Apart from the energy audits, the security guardson their nightly rounds on campus are vigilant indetecting and reporting wastage of electricity suchas leaving the lights or air-conditioning on overnightin vacant offices. These reports are sent to theheads of department as well as the Vice-Chancellor.

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Save energySave money

Save the environmenthttp://www.energy-advice.co.uk/

Air is a global commons – it belongs to everyoneand transcends geographical and politicalboundaries. The quality of air within our campusis the manifestation of the activities within andbeyond our boundaries. Pollutants in the airincreases the incidence of respiratory illnessessuch as asthma and is also not conducive forcarrying out physical activities in pursuit of a healthylifestyle. Emissions from vehicular exhaust,chemical laboratories and even compost heapscould also contribute to global warming. As such,the monitoring of the air quality in campus isessential to provide a clean and healthyenvironment as well as to ensure that the campusis not a contributor to the climate change. Thereare no major air polluting activities on campus.Fumes from the School of Chemical Scienceslaboratories are potential polluters but this havebeen addressed with the installation of scrubberswhich are continuously monitored and reported tothe Occupational Safety and Health Committee.One perennial problem is the convergence of afew thousand extra cars and vehicles on the MainCampus in Penang during the week-long

air quality & indoor environment

convocation resulting in heavy congestion andconsequent degradation of air quality which is notconducive for the several thousand graduates andtheir family members celebrating the achievementof a lifetime.

In general however, the air quality on the MainCampus is very good as shown by a year-longmonitoring by students and lecturers from theSchool of Physics. A project under KampusSejahtera has also been approved to use IPCameras to monitor air quality on campus throughthe Internet. These surveillance cameras canalso be used to monitor traffic and security. Thesystem uses an algorithm developed based onthe atmospheric characteristics for visiblewavelength band data for monitoring air qualityand can detect particulate air pollution withinminutes. This project won a WTO prize for pollutionmonitoring, The data for 2007 shows that theParticular Matter (PM) on the USM campus onPenang Island is consistently in the “good” range(0-50 mg/m-3).

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The quality of the indoor environment includingair quality and lighting affects productivity and thegeneral well-being of workers. Day (natural) lightinginside the office and the opening of windows canimprove productivity but even amongst those withexternal windows it is common to see the curtainsor blinds completely drawn to block out the glareand prying eyes and to keep the air-conditioningefficient. Indoor air quality can be affected bypaints and vanishing used for renovation work aswell as the chemicals, detergents or cleaningagents used for washing floors and toilets. Theseare areas which Kampus Sejahtera should exploreand research further.

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Education and educators have been identified bythe United Nations as the catalyst and agents forchange to achieve sustainability. The universitywill play a role to develop and nurture the skills,talents, knowledge and attitudes to effectbehavioural changes amongst staff and studentsthrough teaching and learning, workshops,accidental discoveries, and research andpublications.

Using keywords search of the USM ExecutiveInformation System revealed that between 1974and 2007, about 8% of the 5861research projectsconducted by USM academics and researchersare related to sustainable development issues.Out of the 1,800 articles published in ISI Journalsbetween 2001 and 2007, nearly 11% were relatedto sustainable development. In terms of paperswith sustainability content presented during the2001-2007 period the percentages were 19% forinternational conferences from a total of 2,200papers while the national conferences attracted ahigher percentage of 23% from a total of 679papers recorded in the database. The keywords

teaching, research & publication

used for the search included eco, bio, environment,sustainable, sustainability, green, nature, pollution,climate change, global warming, waste, recycling,carbon, solar, energy, mangrove, riverin, wetland,water, wind, conservation, ethics, equity andresponsibility. This preliminary finding isencouraging but must be followed up with moreprecise and detailed search and analysis in orderto formulate policies which will encourage moreresearch and publication for sustainabledevelopment. Several current research havetremendous potential in terms of promoting zerowaste, increased food production by utilisingdiscarded , intelligent and sustainable transport,green buildings, bio-ecological drainage systems,biofuel, renewable energy and other environmental-friendly products.

No comprehensive study has been done todiscover the extent of integration of sustainabledevelopment content in the courses taught atUSM. There has been no attempt so far tooverhaul the curriculum at USM to incorporatesustainability into every course. However, informal

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feedback and discussion reveals considerableinterest and ad hoc efforts by individual lecturersto integrate sustainable development componentsin their courses and student projects. A newcourse has been approved and will be offered bythe School of Social Sciences on ethics andsustainable development while various existingcourses in the natural sciences, education andbuilt environment can be considered as foundationor the building blocks for sustainability. Acomprehensive study involving every lecturer mustbe carried to identify courses already integratingsustainable development and others which canbe encouraged to move in that direction. A longterm plan must be developed to overhaul allcourses to integrate sustainability content.

Training programmes and workshops forsustainable development include training of ourground maintenance staff on the proper methodsfor pruning or trimming tree branches with helpfrom experts from the Forest Research Instituteof Malaysia (FRIM). About 100 mid-career lecturershave undergone in-house training (PTK3) to create

e-learning modules integrating sustainabledevelopment, critical thinking and constructivism.RCE Penang@USM has also conducted severalworkshops and International Conferences on thetheme of sustainable development. A trainingworkshop is being planned for the canteen operatorsand food handlers on hygiene and preparation ofhealthy meals.

The teaching and learning must also be initiatedand driven by the students themselves. Twoenvironmental science undergraduates from theSchool of Biological Sciences who are membersof the USM Environmental Club were amongst 45participants selected for the Youth Forum of theEast Asia Seas (EAS) Congress 2006 in HaikouCity, China. They have brought back contacts andideas from a global network and have initiatedprojects to create greater environmental awarenessamongst their peers under the auspices of KampusSejahtera.

Some of the research projects showcased at variousInternational and National Conferences and

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Exhibitions have the potential to reduceenvironmental impacts and increase foodproduction. They include :

A Novel Eco-Friendly – (Zero-Waste) Probefor On-Site Monitoring of Microbial Activityin Soil, Compost and Oxidation Ponds –Sudesh Kumar

Catalytic Process for Production of Biofuelfrom Palm-Oil – Subash Bhatia

EcoPalm PaperTM – An EnvironmentallyFriendly Quality Paper from Oil PalmBiomass – Wan Rosli Wan Daud

Enzymatic De-Inking: An EnvironmentalFriendly Solution to Recycling of PrintedWaste Paper – Darah Ibrahim

Utilization of Innovative Ingredient fromJackfruit Seed Flour in Health Fibre Bread– Noor Aziah Abdul Aziz

Interlocking Rubber Tiles / Blocks fromRecycle Rubber Wastes Using a NovelRecycling Chemical Called DeCrossCHEM– Hanafi Ismail

Oil Absorbing Material from Natural RubberLatex (KLEENOLL) – Baharin Azahari

Mobile Plankton Production Kit for theAquaculture Industry – Zulfigar Yassin

A Novel Process for the Production ofEthylene from Natural Gas Introduction –Abdul Rahman Mohamed

Eco Oil Palm ‘Ash Glaze’ – An EconomicalGlaze from Agro Waste of Oil Palm forCeramic Products – Shamsu Mohamad

An Innovative and Novel Membrane BasedProcess for Treatment of Palm-Oil – AbdulLatif Ahmad

Bio-Ecological Drainage System(BIOECODS) River Engineering and UrbanDrainage Research Centre (REDAC) – NorAzazi Zakaria

“Worm-Fert” – The Black Gold of Soil –Hasnah Jais

Some of these research have won gold medalsat international and national exhibitions.

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students must present their findings and solutionsto an audience comprising students, communityleaders, local public officials and a panel of judges. Evaluations are conducted concurrentlythroughout the phases of the project to measurethe impact of Projek Warga in achieving itsobjective of promoting social awareness andincreasing interest, understanding, appreciationand participation among the young in public affairsand policy processes. Funding for this project isprovided by an international organisation.

Gegar U

Initiated by Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysiaas a programme for national youth unity it involvesthe participation of local universities to bringknowledge for the benefit of local communities.USM has adopted the rural community of BalikPulau on Penang Island where our researchersand academics are involved in a technologytransfer to use every single part of the bananatree to generate economic activities for the local

A sustainable university must also contribute toand support sustainable community developmentat the local, regional and international levels.Some of our notable initiatives in reaching out tothe community include :

Projek Warga (Citizenship Project)

Projek Warga is an active citizenship projectdirected at youngsters, especially lower secondaryschool students, to promote competent andresponsible participation in public affairs. ProjekWarga aims to educate young citizens to appreciatepublic policy processes and encourage them tointeract with public authorities in an effort tounderstand and seek creative and innovativesolutions to problems in their community. Between10 and 15 secondary schools are selected foreach cycle with a 3-day training workshop forteachers who then guide the students in identifyinga problem (e.g. air and water pollution, inadequatepublic amenities, social problems among youths),gather information and develop a portfolio. The

outreach programmes

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residents.

Sustainable Energy

CETREE, the Centre for Education, Training andResearch in Renewal Energy and Energy Efficiencyhas since 2000 conducted numerous outreachprogrammes on the subject of energy through thedevelopment of curriculum and workbooks andconducting workshops, carnivals, competitions,campaigns and forums for primary and secondaryschool students and teachers as well as universitystudents and staff and professionals. In 2006, theCentre spent RM1.3 million on these programmesreaching out to more 8,000 school children, 1,700teachers and lecturers and 14,000 members ofthe public.

International Affliliations

In addition, USM is a member and on the Boardof numerous international organisations such as

ASAIHL (Association of South Asian Institutions ofHigher Learning), IAU (International Association ofUniversities), AUN (Asian Universities Network),ACU (Association of Commonwealth Universities)and others. Many of these organisations are activelyseeking solutions for social justice andenvironmental responsibility. USM has organisedmany International Conferences along the themeof sustainable development and participated inmany more.

This document is published (in electronic format)in conjunction with the International Conference ofmore than 100 delegates from 34 RCEs (RegionalCentres of Expertise) from all over the World from7th-8th July 2007 at USM. USM is one of the 7pioneer RCEs appointed by the United NationsUniversity to propagate Education for SustainableDevelopment (EfSD).

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“Environmentalists are often regarded aspeople who want to stop one thing or another” ... this book is about beginnings.

borrowing from David W. Orr

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USM has achieved much. The question is howmuch? And is it enough to make a difference toensure that our future generations will continue toenjoy a high quality of life?

We have not done a systematic assessment ofour impact on the ecology - what is our ecologicalfootprint? How much have our actions havecontributed to reducing greenhouse effects? Whatcan we do to reduce reliance on fossil fuel? Whatactions can be taken to reduce consumption?

Have we given enough priority, funding andrecognition or awards to encourage research andscholarship on sustainable development?

Do our students, lecturers and staff have sufficientknowledge how the ecology works and how ouractions impact on the capacity of the Earth toregeneration?

We must ask ourselves some hard questions sothat our actions are not a “flash in the pan” but willbe sustained as a university agenda and priority

how do we move forward?

throughout the frequent changes in leadershipboth at the student level as well as in higherechelons of management.

The university must move forward as one with acommon vision and mission. This book is thereforeonly a stimulus to move us forward. This book willcontinually evolve through a process ofconsultations to set directions and priorities foraction.

On-going projects will continue as planned butfuture projects should address specific aspects ofsustainable development within the framework ofKampus Sejahtera as discussed earlier in thisbook. We all know the value of planting moretrees but proponents for landscaping and tree-planting projects must justify them based on howit will contribute to sustainability. Similarly, whenundertaking recycling campaigns, the organisersshould look at the bigger picture of wastemanagement and consumption.

One key towards achieving sustainable

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Publication of 1st Edition of this book :Aug 2007

Consultation :Sept 2007 - Dec 2007

Develop assessment framework :Oct 2007 - June 2008

SD Policy formulation :Dec 2007 - Mar 2008

Develop a Plan of Action :Sept 2007 - Mar 2008

adoption of SD policiesbudgettingfundingpriority projectsstudent internshipscarry out assessmentmonitoringstudents / staff trainingcurriculum redesignresearch priority for SDoutreach programmespublication / disseminationenvironmental awards / recognition

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planning for action

development is helping people to make betterdecisions. Hence activities and projects initiatedunder Kampus Sejahtera must incorporateopportunities for learning. In this regard, thedevelopment of a sustainable campus assessmentframework, policy formulation and devlopment ofa plan of area will be opportunities for studentsand staff to learn how to lead sustainable lifestyles

To walk the talk, USM will use the scenario planningapproach to envision sustainable futures for ournew Research Park which will be developedentirely on sustainable development principles.

Various assessment tools have been developedspecifically for assessing campus sustainabilitysuch as :

April Smith, 1993. Campus Ecology : A Guideto Assessing Environmental Quality andCreating Strategies for Change. Los Angeles: Living Planet

Geneva Guerin and Lindsay Cole, 2003.Campus Sustainabil i ty AssessmentFramework - Toolkit. Sierra Youth Coalition

Various other examples of assessment frameworksuch as the questionnaire developed by theUniversity Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF)will be evaluated.

assessment framework

This book has embraced the ideas and conceptsof the above publications which will be furtherevaluated and refined to develop or customise aframework appropriate for USM.

The framework as discussed earlier in this bookcomprises two major systems, namely, ecologyprotection and human development. Each systemhas five sections which are further classified intosub-sections which may be further divided intomore sub-sections until finally reaching indicators.

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One of the principles we have adopted is to “domore with less” in line with the philosophy ofsustainable development.

We will need to identify priority areas and projectswhich needs immediate attention, can beimplemented readily, will show results in the short-term and can be sustained over an extended periodof time. Achieving zero waste, reducing energyconsumption and water usage, reducing cars incampus, elminating use of styrofoam, etc. can beimplemented quickly (if there is the will) and showpossitive results immediately.

Some actions which will take longer to bear fruitsmust also be given priority. For instance, trees

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prioritising projects

take a long time to mature. Sourcing funds for R& D, the redesigning of the curriculum, and retrainingof staff will show results only after an extendedperiod of effort.

At the same time, longer term projects which willneed more preparation and planning and largerbudgets should also be identified for gradualimplementation. Major infrastructure and buildingprojects, redesign of layouts and refurbishing ofbuildings to be green will need bigger budgets,expertise and longer period for implementation.

A set of priorities will guide day-to-day decision-making at Kampus Sejahtera as well as throughoutthe University administrative machinery.

“Growing without increasing our ecological footprint”would be our goal. Policies must be developedin each of the areas of concern, including :

Human DevelopmentFairness and justice for allPhysical development (Buildings & Site)TransportationPurchasing and ConsumptionWaste ManagementEnergyToxic & Hazardous substancesEcology, Environment & Climate

sustainable campus policies

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Dzulkifli Abdul RazakOmar OsmanM. Izham M. IbrahimLee Lik MengZainal Abidin Sanusi

... and many more to be listed here as we moveforward

key persons& contributors for asustainable campus

Your name should be here.Become a volunteer. Get in touch with KampusSejahtera.

Pick an issue on sustainability which is closeto your heart.Initiate or join an existing group.Contribute your time, ideas and energy.Walk the Talk.

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become a

volunteer

Lee Lik MengCoordinator, Kampus SejahteraCorporate & Sustainable Development DivisionUniversiti Sains Malaysia11800 USM, Penang

Email : likmeng@gmail.comFax : +604 656 9298Blog : http://kampus-sejahtera.blogspot.com/

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assisted by Mona, Yussoff, Marina, Zurina & Zaidi

Compilation, Layout & Photography by :