Sponsored by Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Supreme Council of Universities launched the competition for the best environmentally friendly university for the academic year 2024/2025. To motivate Egyptian universities to transform into environmentally friendly universities, and enhance commitment to environmental sustainability standards, within the framework of the Egyptian state’s efforts to transition to a green economy and achieve sustainable development.

Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressed the importance of this competition in achieving the goals of sustainable development, and the existence of green, environmentally friendly Egyptian universities, explaining the importance of all Egyptian universities participating in this competition, and making every effort to win it, which contributes to achieving the goals of sustainable development. And build a better environment for everyone.

For his part, Dr. Mustafa Refaat, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities, explained that the competition for the best environmentally friendly university for the year 2024 was launched on December 30, 2023, and the criteria and timetable will continue to be sent to universities within two weeks, and the universities will submit the competition files two months after they receive the criteria and timetable. The files will be studied for a month, and the committees’ visits to the universities will begin during the months of April and May 2024, and the results of the competition will be announced after two months.

The Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities pointed out that the competition aims to transform Egyptian universities into green, environmentally friendly universities, adding that the competition is held according to 7 main criteria, which are:

The university’s infrastructure and risk management standard. This standard focuses on the total area of open spaces, the total area of the university campus, the area covered with plants, and the maintenance cases followed by the university to protect infrastructure and facilities, in accordance with the concepts of the budget allocated to maintaining facilities, as well as the intensity of occupancy. , occupational safety and health procedures and risk management at the university, in addition to the emergency service, the extent of application of green building concepts, the annual plan for crisis and disaster management, and the presence of independent centers and units for crisis management at the university and its various faculties, in addition to the availability of evacuation scenarios for buildings in the event of crises, procedures for preventing biological risks in all university units, the number of seminars and workshops, awareness campaigns and activities, as well as relevant procedures for preparing for the academic year.

Energy and climate change standard: This standard focuses on the energy consumption rationalization program within the university, the policy of using renewable energy, the use of energy-saving devices instead of traditional devices, the rate of annual electricity consumption, and the ratio of renewable energy production to total annual energy use. In addition to the program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the projects implemented at the university to confront climate change, as well as the practice of biodiversity and combating desertification, as well as activities and initiatives related to adaptation to the effects of climate change.

Waste management standard: This standard focuses on the university’s commitment to the waste recycling program, the disposal of hazardous waste (ISD), organic, and inorganic waste, as well as the mechanism for safe sewage disposal, and the mechanism for reducing the use of paper and plastic on campus, the mechanism for sanitary transactions of food and beverages within university cities, and programs for utilizing waste within the university.

Water management standard: This standard focuses on the university’s mechanisms for rationalizing water consumption on campus, the mechanisms for recycling water and using it again, as well as the mechanisms for maintaining water pipes to prevent waste resulting from leaks, as well as the university’s plans and mechanisms for maintaining taps and the university’s internal supply networks to prevent water waste.

Transportation standard within the university: This standard focuses on the extent of the university’s commitment to bus transportation services within the campus, the bicycle and pedestrian policy within the campus, the transportation policy to limit parking space, and the number of cars, bicycles, and equipment powered by new and renewable energy.

Educational Systems Standard “Learning, Scientific Research and Sustainability”: This standard focuses on the number of courses related to the environment and sustainability, the total number of courses offered by the university, the total number of scholarships and research grants obtained during the last three years, the funding received for them, and funding for environmental research. , and the total research funding during the last three years, as well as the number of books, literature, and local and logical scientific research on the environment and sustainability during the last three years, and the number of scientific activities and events related to the environment and sustainability, such as seminars, workshops, and training during the last three years, awareness campaigns on sustainability policies through the university’s website, innovative solutions to address environmental problems by educational systems based on scientific practices to solve environmental problems, electronic transformation of exams and courses, the number of electronic courses in all faculties, as well as the total number of courses, and the number of electronic examinations implemented in the university’s various faculties, The number of student projects directed to serve sustainable development goals, and the number of applied projects that came out of the university and are concerned with climate change issues.

University and community standard: This standard focuses on the aesthetic appearance within the university campus, the presence of a clear policy and plan for sustainability, the means of communication through which the sustainability policy is disseminated, and noise within university facilities, in addition to the presence of, institutes, centers, and units specialized in the environment and sustainable development and their effectiveness. The policy of using detergents, pesticides, and chemicals, taking into account procedures to protect the work environment, the community services provided by the institution that support sustainability, and the university’s commitment to having units of a special nature that provide community and research consultations regarding protecting water sources, rationalizing consumption, switching to alternative energy sources, and mitigating negative impacts. Resulting from climate change or the existence of a climate change observatory, participating in global classifications related to the environment, such as the Green Metric classification, the QS for sustainability classification, and practices related to biodiversity and combating desertification.

For his part, Dr. Adel Abdel Ghaffar, the media advisor and official spokesman for the Ministry, confirmed that the evaluation of the universities participating in the competition is carried out according to specific rules for each standard, and the universities are awarded grades on each standard, based on the level of commitment to the standards, provided that the universities that win the competition are granted financial prizes and certificates of appreciation, The results of the competition will also be published on the website of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and its official pages on social networking sites, adding that the competition includes all Egyptian universities (governmental, private, and civil), as well as branches of foreign universities and technological universities, indicating that the results of the competition will be conducted on 3 places (first, second, and third) for each type of university separately, explaining that the announcement of the results of the competition will be during the month of August 2024.