POLICY DOCUMENT ON THE GREEN CAMPUS/PLASTIC FREE CAMPUS.

1. Introduction:

A Green campus is a place where environmentally friendly practices and education combine to promote sustainable and eco-friendly practices on the campus and beyond the campus. The green campus concept offers an institution the opportunity to take the lead in redefining its environmental culture and developing new paradigms by creating sustainable solutions to environmental, social and economic needs of mankind. Mount Everest College, which is one of the reputed and prestigious colleges in Senapati District Headquarter, which desire higher learning, is conscious about environment conservation with its green campus initiatives and maintains clean campus. The clean and green campus, energy and environment policies will create innovative new cocurricular and extracurricular activities that inspire students to take the initiative in bringing about change. These initiatives demand a comprehensive evaluation of all administrative, co-curricular, and infrastructure tasks from the perspectives of energy efficiency, sustainability, and the environment.

1. Objectives:

The key objectives of the policy includes:

• To protect and preserve environmental systems and resources within the campus.

• To integrate environmental concerns into policies, plans and programs for social development.

• To work out time bound strategies to implement green campus initiatives.

• To conduct college energy and green audits from time to time.

• To help the students and faculty understand everyone’s responsibility and to take an initiative to save the environment

•To minimize the usage of paper in administration by implementing a way to paperless office.

1. Major Green/plastic free campus initiatives:

Every individual of Mount Everest College, Latur may he/she be a student, faculty and supporting staff will work to foster a culture of clean, green and to minimize pollution to provide natural environment for an effective learning experience through NSS Unit, seminars, workshops and lectures as well.

1. Campus Environmental and Energy Management Committee: The Mount Everest College, Senapati, therefore has constituted Campus Environmental and Energy Management Committee. This committee shall perform the role of overall planning, executing and monitoring of the eco-friendly initiatives of the institution. It also undertakes effective waste management mechanisms to minimize pollution.

1. Clean Campus Drive.

In accordance with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the college actively encourages staff and students to keep campus clean and green both in the college and beyond the campus. The college administration will take the lead on the clean campus initiative by ensuring that resources, personnel, and waste handling methods are properly distributed throughout the year.

The initiatives under this include:

➢ Generating awareness about cleanliness and hygiene amongst staff members and students through awareness campaign and cleanliness drives.

➢ Preserving and caring variety of plants and trees existing on the college campus which are a good source of oxygen and which aids in the greenery of the institute.

➢ Organizing rallies, skits and awareness campaigns on topics related to the “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” is a key component of all the community works being done by NSS. ➢ Commit to manage waste and maintain clean campus especially during college events.

➢ Conduct tree plantation program to maintain eco-friendly and clean environment.

➢ Felicitation of guest invited for the various programs organized in college with small plant instead of bouquet.

1. Clean Air initiatives:

➢ Encouraging students and staff members to use electric vehicles or public transport to control pollution.

➢ Smoking and burning of garbage strictly prohibited in the campus.

➢ The rich natural environment serves to purify the air in the campus.

1. Plastic Free campus:

In view of the Government of India’s resolution to ban all single use plastics due to the hazardous impact of plastic use and pollution

• College administration strictly bans the use of single use plastic in college campus and in all important meetings of the college.
• Advising and instructing students and staff members not to use plastic water bottles, plastic bags, any non-degradable materials, and motivating for using cloth and paper bags, paper folders and articles.
• Organizing and participating in paper bag day.
• Anti-Litter club is regularly taking up cleanliness drive and campaign every Wednesday.

1. Landscaping initiatives with trees and plants:

It is the essential component of college campus providing space for study, play, outdoor events, relaxation and aesthetic appreciation. Additionally, green campus landscaping controls runoff, aids in groundwater recharging, and purifies campus air.

➢ There are thousands of trees, shrubs, and medicinal plants within and outside the campus along with green cover as a part of the Go-Green Campaign.

➢ Oxygen Park with bamboo is available which clean the atmosphere.

➢ Participating in tree-planting campaigns and encouraging student to host tree-planting activities.

1. Alternative Energy sources and installation of Energy Efficiency Equipment

➢ The college believes in reducing the consumption of electricity by utilizing grid connected PV Solar system with net metering for purposes like lighting the campus. These panels are installed on rooftop of the college building.

➢ Commit to install environment-friendly electrical appliances that save energy and reduce wasteful inefficiencies.

➢ Most of the tube lights and lamps are replaced by LED/Sensor based LED or compact fluorescent bulbs in classrooms and passages to minimize the energy consumption

➢ Commit to keep lights off in conference rooms, classrooms, lecture halls when they are not in use

➢ Activate power management features on your computer and monitor so that it will go into a low power “sleep” mode when it is not functioning.

1. Water conservation through rain water harvesting:

➢ Conduct regular checks for dripping taps. leaky faucets, flushes etc.

➢ College has committed to replenish the groundwater table by practicing rainwater harvesting. This practice helps in the replenishment and recharge of the groundwater.

➢ Taking steps to creating a water-recycling system to reuse as much water as possible

1. Waste management processes:

Mount Everest College takes all the necessary precautions and full responsibility for disposing the waste generated at the college.

➢ Segregation of waste into dry and wet waste from the separately allotted dustbins is done in strategic locations and handed over to the local municipal vehicle, thus maintaining the campus clean and Eco- friendly.

➢ The wastes water mixed with chemicals from laboratories passes through concealed pipe line into soak pits. All waste water lines from toilets, etc., is well connected with municipal drainage mains.

➢ All solid waste collected from all around the campus are used for vermicomposting. Vermicompost so produced is used in the garden.

➢ A stack of paper that has been printed on one side and use it for day to day rough paper work.

➢ Awareness amongst students about reduction of e-waste and making provisions for environment friendly disposal.

➢ Disposal of institutional e-waste by collaborating with e-waste recycling companies to get electronic waste recycled.

1. Waste Recycle system:

Paper waste is sold out for its recycling to the local vendors. Vermicompost is used to recycle solid waste and liquid waste after proper treatment used in gardening.

j. Environment Centric Awareness Activities College encourages awareness programs, plantation program, Cleanliness drive in and beyond the campus, Celebration of Environmental days.

k. Environmental audits:

The college aims to regularly conduct a Green Audit of our college campus to assess strengths and weaknesses for long- term sustainability. A green audit is a useful tool to determine how and where most energy or water or resources are being used. Green audit regulates all ecofriendly and sustainable practices and gives an efficient way of natural resource utilization. It also increases overall consciousness among the people working in institutions towards an environment. The energy audit, with its specialized tools will identify wastage of energy. Such an inspection often reveals several different flaws which cause a loss of significant amounts of energy which the college will not be able to detect.

l. Institutional improvements toward sustainability and eco-friendly behaviours:

In this context the major institutional improvements toward sustainability and eco-friendly behaviors are:

➢ Displayed poster on save energy.

➢ Maintenance of water bodies and distribution system in the campus.

➢ Single use plastic free campus.

➢ Digital Library.

➢ Organization of sensitization programmes for the stakeholders

➢ Way to less paper office.

➢ Pledges by staff and students.

➢ Digitalization of student attendance, assignment via online and sharing of data /Lecture notes on google class-room/WhatsApp.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT