YTU Environment, Landscaping, and Sustainability Division has been founded.
İklim değişikliğinin ve çevresel sürdürülebilirliğin gelecekte ciddi bir tehdit olacağı düşüncesiyle, ülkemiz ve tüm dünya için sürdürülebilirliğe katkı sağlamak amacıyla geleceğe yönelik sorumlulukların bir parçası olma yolunda kararlılıkla ilerleyen Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi sürdürülebilir dönüşümünde büyük bir adım daha atarak Çevre, Peyzaj ve Sürdürülebilirlik Şube Müdürlüğünü kurdu.
Sürdürülebilirlik altyapısının % 48’ini yeşil ve orman alanlarının oluşturduğu kampüsteki her türlü faaliyetin çevreye ve insana olumsuz etkilerini önleyecek şekilde kuran YTÜ, çevresel, sosyal ve ekonomik sürdürülebilirlik ilkeleri çerçevesinde gerçekleştirdiği faaliyetlerini YTÜ Sürdürülebilirlik politikası kapsamında geliştirerek insan odaklı, bilimsel, teknolojik ve sosyal boyutuyla küresel ölçekte lider bir üniversite olma yolunda ilerlemektedir.
Akıllı, yeşil, engelsiz ve sürdürülebilir kampüs odağıyla hayata geçen Müdürlüğümüzün faaliyetlerini Tülay Tozar Doktu anlatıyor.
Yildiz Technical University 3rd National Student Cartoon Contest titled “Cultural Heritage and Sustainability
The contest is organized with the intention of revealing the awareness of future professionals on “cultural heritage and sustainability” and approaching the subject from a critical and inclusive perspective. Students enrolled in associate and undergraduate programs of universities in Turkey and TRNC affiliated to the Higher Education Institution can participate in the contest.
For contest specifications and application:
3rd National Student Cartoon Contest titled “Cultural Heritage and Sustainability”
3rd International Zero Waste Summit and Yildiz Technical University has been awarded the “Zero Waste Best Practice” Prize
The 3rd International Zero Waste Summit and Award Ceremony organized by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change on 23 December 2022 at Haliç Congress Center was held under the theme of ‘Climate and Youth’.
University students from different regions of Turkey, climate ambassador youth, environmental volunteers, artists, athletes, NGOs, business world and university representatives, local administrations and all environmentally sensitive stakeholders participated in the summit.
In the fifth year of the Zero Waste Project, which was launched in 2017, Yıldız Technical University was granted the “Zero Waste Best Practice” award in the university category.
In addition to its R&D studies on circular economy and environmentally friendly production models, our university has proved with this award that it is the pioneer of responsible consumption with its zero-waste management on its campuses. Yıldız Technical University continues to develop new approaches in sustainable waste management by making choices to reduce and prevent waste in its activities.
Yildiz Technopark Supports Suspended Meal Project for YTU Students
The ‘suspended meal’ is a social responsibility project that aims to support students during their university years and provides free meals to those in need. So how does the project work?
It is possible to leave individual meals for students on ‘suspended meal’ bulletin boards in restaurants, or with corporate sponsorship, meal names can be posted on bulletin boards by paying a collective fee. With their university student IDs, students can eat the meals on the pending lists, which are hung on bulletin boards in many restaurants and cafes on YTU Davutpaşa Campus, free of charge. Yıldız Technopark became one of the corporate sponsors by signing a special cooperation contract with Suspended Meal project. Technopark, which supports the project separately for all restaurants, is also its prime mover.
Aiming to support YTU students and those in need within the scope of social responsibility, the project has already received significant participation with the support of Technopark companies. YTU Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer YILMAZ has been one of the biggest supporters of Suspended Meal, which was initially launched as a pilot project. With the sponsorship of Yildiz Technopark, 1767 free meals were served in 2020, and 151 more in 2021 to date.
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Suspended Food Service for Students in YTU Dining Halls
With YTU Rector Prof. Dr. Tamer YILMAZ being one of its biggest supporters, Suspended Meal Service, which was launched as a pilot social responsibility project on YTU Davutpaşa Campus, has been expanded via mobile applications and become a widely-benefitted implication in campus life.
In order to take or leave meals on the lists, students can simply click on “Dining Hall” button on the menu of SoliPAY mobile app, where they can easily process transactions with the Suspended Meal (Askıda Yemek) button on the meal transactions drop-down menu. The project, within which 1767 meals were served free of charge in 2020 and 151 more in 2021 to date, has been highly appreciated by the students.
Membership of Our University to the International Network of Scientific Approaches and Solutions for Sustainable Development
At the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Summit in New York on September 25, 2015, country leaders came together and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, consisting of 17 goals and 169 targets to eradicate poverty in all its dimensions and ensure the common prosperity of humanity by 2030.
The Declared Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the environment, address the climate crisis, share prosperity equitably and achieve peace. The goal is to ensure a better and more livable world for humanity and future generations.
Higher education institutions, which undertake critical tasks in the development and welfare of countries, also have an important role as one of the stakeholders that contribute to achieving sustainable development goals. On the other hand, it is important that universities, which are almost like a small city with their large size and population, adopt the principle of being sustainable to minimize the negative environmental, social and economic impacts while carrying out their activities, as well as offering a livable green campus to their stakeholders and leading the society in sustainability.
In this direction, our U-university has become one of the member organizations in the international Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
http://unsdsn.boun.edu.tr/uyeler/
https://www.unsdsn.org/
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certification
The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Certificate, which certifies the awareness of businesses and organizations towards nature, basically aims to minimize the use of natural resources such as soil, air and water and to prevent damage to these natural resources. The certificate, which is given to institutions that produce and operate within the framework of these standards, is also accepted as an indicator that the relevant organizations have minimized their environmental impact.
“Our university, which implements environmentally friendly management policies from water and electricity use to waste management with its “Smart, Green, Barrier-free and Sustainable Campus” approach, has been included in a system that contributes to the adoption of ISO 14001, environmental balance and environmental awareness by all organizations, considering today’s ecological problems. With the ISO 14001 Certificate, in a sense, we have documented the sensitivity and sincerity of our university on this issue.
1st National Student Cartoon Contest titled “Sustainability in Urban Environment”
The prizes have been awarded to the winners of the National Carton Contest titled “Sustainability in Urban Environment” with participating students from 41 universities.
On March 7th, 2021
Yildiz Technical University places sustainability at the core of its vision and mission and aligns sustainable development goals with the goals stated in the national development vision document of Turkey. For this reason, by approaching the term sustainability from an integrative perspective, the university attaches utmost importance to interdisciplinary cooperation among many disciplines from engineering and life sciences to architecture and administrative and economic sciences.
In this context, the winners of the National Cartoon Contest titled Sustainability in Urban Environment have been awarded their prizes. The contest, which was organized by the YTU Sustainable Campus Committee, was aimed at raising awareness about the natural and environmental problems using the power of art and urging the next generation to approach those problems from a critical and inclusive perspective during the trying days by which environmental issues are gaining grave concern. Although there are 10 works of art that have been awarded prizes, the university will plant one tree in the name of all participants. On the other hand, the university also shows true allegiance to improving the well-being expectancy of the future generations and open new horizons for its current stakeholders where they can get a grasp of the natural and environmental problems from an artistic point of view.
Raising awareness through student engagement within the scope of sustainable development plays a crucial role in the fulfillment of the societal impact function of higher education institutions. Yildiz Technical University always prefers to go out of its way to create an atmosphere where student engagement is pritoritized.
An exhibit of the selected works out of the 166 applicants will be on display at the exhibition hall (Tarihi Hamam) on Davutpaşa Campus.
In order to visit the exhibit online, please click here: https://bit.ly/3uP3TLZ
According to the UI GreenMetric 2023 World University Rankings, YTU ranks 244 on the list of “the top sustainable universities in the world”.
Yıldız Technical University has risen to 244th place in the UI GreenMetric ranking, where the campuses of the world’s distinguished universities are evaluated in terms of the proportion of green areas and sustainability, thanks to its sustainable campus initiatives.
Established in 2010 with the aim of increasing awareness about sustainability and promoting internationalization, GreenMetric annually evaluates the world’s distinguished universities in various fields such as campus setting, infrastructure, energy, climate change, recycling, water resources, transportation, and education. GreenMetric scores universities separately for each evaluation area and ranks them based on their total scores obtained from these assessments.
According to the 2020 results of the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking System, Yıldız Technical University has climbed 19 steps in one year to secure the 244th position among the most distinguished universities.
Last year, ranked 263rd globally among 780 universities, Yıldız Technical University has continued its efforts unabated towards becoming a more environmentally friendly, greener, and sustainable campus. As a result, the university increased its total score in 2019 from 5675 to 6425. Specifically, in the Waste category, the score rose from 800 to 1050; in the Transportation category, from 1250 to 1525; and in the Education and Research category, from 1050 to 1275.
In efforts ranging from infrastructure to energy, recycling to efficient use of water resources, and transportation to education, Yıldız Technical University, in collaboration with its members, has adopted an approach respectful to nature and humanity. The goal is to create a happy and peaceful environment for all campus residents and to foster a consciousness that respects both people and the environment.
