From green energy to introducing a green environment, Al-Aqsa University is weaving sustainability into its very fabric. Recently, AQU succeeded to rank the 2nd most sustainable university in the green environment in Palestine and the 333 in the world according to UI GreenMetric.
Al-Aqsa University has contributed immensely towards environmental sustainability through its green initiatives and environmental management system in its two campuses Gaza and Khan Younis. They have as many as ten buildings that come under this initiative, which include the Faculty of fine Arts and sports halls, swimming pools and playground.
The university also established academies and strategic plans to promote green initiatives which aim at increasing the awareness of the concepts of the university sustainability and green environment through organizing workshops and a symposium. In this respect, It has numerous practices in favor of the enviroment through activities ranging from planting to green energy, including green transport and water.
" This ranking is based on six main criteria in the evaluation process which are: the work environment and infrastructure of campus, energy and climate change, waste management, optimal use of water, green transport, and education and sustainability," says Dr. Omar Meqdad the Dean of planning and quality assurance at AQU.
AQU had already introduced a number of sustainability measures, including green zones scheme, the implementation of water conservation programs, the establishment of a water desalination, the mitigation programs of CO2 emissions and the launching of the Friends of the Student Environment Association, have had a significant impact on achieving a qualitative leap in the university's ranking this year. Here, things could be about to change, AQU pays great attention to the implementation of many activities related to the environment within its five-year strategic plan (2019-2023), which contributes to the preservation of the environment of the Palestinian society. The efforts made by Al-Aqsa University during the past year, including.
