Answering the Call to Action

As a leading global university based in Asia and Singapore’s flagship university, NUS is committed to advancing sustainable development and contributing to the fight against climate change.

BUILDING ON ITS LONG-STANDING INVOLVEMENT IN SUSTAINABILITY AND LEVERAGING ITS VAST INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES ACROSS ACADEMIC

DISCIPLINES, NUS established the University Sustainability and Climate Action Council in 2021 to coordinate and scale up its green programmes and initiatives across its key pillars of education, research and campus operations. The Council — chaired by NUS President and composed of faculty and staff from different specialisations — guides and shapes policies and programmes on how the University equips graduates with future-ready skills, generates new knowledge and develops a climate-resilient campus.

INNOVATION-INSPIRED RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

Agri-food Technology: urban agriculture and aquaculture solutions, AI and IoT for agri-food applications, biotechnology for sustainable food production Water Treatment and Purification: catchment management, water monitoring and treatment, water reclamation, seawater desalination, energy and resource recovery

CAMPUS GROUNDS — RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP & LIVING LAB

NUS is taking responsibility for its environmental footprint, and developing a climate-resilient and resource-efficient campus for the future. The Campus Sustainability Roadmap 2030 comprises three key programmes: Carbon Neutral Campus: to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, contributing to Singapore’s national target to peak emissions by 2030 Cool NUS: to develop a biophilic and environmentally-sensitive campus to cool ambient temperature and mitigate the urban heat island effect Zero Waste NUS: to become a zerowaste campus and divert 90% of campus waste away from incineration plants by significantly increasing reuse and recycling

NUS is also using its campus grounds as a living laboratory to test-bed institution-led technologies and create innovative learning experiences for its students and staff. Examples of on-campus projects include:

SDE4, the first new-build net-zero energy building in Singapore that is energy-efficient and environmentallyfriendly, with a suite of innovative building strategies to improve the comfort and well-being of building users

Acknowledging the complexity of climate science and sustainability, NUS researchers conduct high-quality inter-disciplinary research to create new knowledge and develop sustainability solutions optimised for tropical, urban and Asian settings to meet the needs of increasingly urgent, yet multifaceted global challenges. The University has identified the following priority research domains:

Green Energy Technologies: solar, waste-toenergy, energy efficiency, energy storage, green hydrogen fuel production, carbon capture, storage and utilisation

Urban Heat Resilience: smart cooling, climate-sensitive design of the urban environment, heat stress and associated strategies

Coastal Engineering and Flood Prevention: tracking sea level rise, modelling of coastal flooding, flood prevention and coastal protection

Nature-based Climate Solutions: protecting and better managing natural ecosystems, informing climate policies and strategies