Efforts of Universities to Transition to Green University

OpenAlex Turkish

Global warming and climate change are among the most important risks threatening the world. Universities are developing different policies to end or reduce these risks. Especially after 2015, with the adoption of the Development Agenda, the efforts of universities on sustainability have accelerated. The initiatives of universities on sustainability include the preparation of sustainability reports, adoption of low carbon strategies, activities carried out in sustainability centres, most effective thesis and publication awards, inclusion in international sustainability rankings, and establishing collaborations with different communities and stakeholders. The aim of the study is to examine the position of universities in the Greenmetric ranking and to present their activities related to green universities with a holistic approach. In the study, exploratory research method was used to analyse and evaluate the top ten universities in the GreenMetric ranking. For the exploratory research method, secondary sources such as books, university reports, articles, conference papers and websites were utilised. The role of green universities in sustainability is higher than non-green universities. Green universities practices are generally accepted as the first step taken by universities towards sustainability. However, it is also necessary to carry out comprehensive and multidimensional studies on sustainability in universities.