SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL
12
Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Overview
“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”
-Rabindranath Tagore
Sustainable Development Goal 12 addresses the urgent need to ensure mindful use of resources, energy efficiency and sustainable consumption, infrastructure, essential services, and green jobs, as well as to ensure a better quality of life for all. With 11 targets and 13 indicators, the goal aims to achieve the defined patterns of activities by 2030. In short, the success of SDG 12 holds the key to sustaining not only the current but also the future generations.
Shiv Nadar University is a sprawling green campus spread across 300 acres in a rural-urban landscape. A mini city, the campus is surrounded by agricultural land. By wetlands of Bil Akbarur on one side and NH 91 on the other. The surrounding landscape has witnessed rapid transformation due to urbanization. On campus, we have made every effort to proactively plan, act, and proposeways for responsible consumption and production through teaching, research, and institutional practices, and colloboration with institutions to expand our idea of responsible consumption and production.
Here is a glimpse of our work.
Teaching and Learning
At Shiv Nadar, we are committed to offering meaningful education around sustainability and related areas to all students across the University besides our core subjects. For undergraduate students, many compulsory courses are regularly offered, such as Environmental Studies (CCC 704), Biodiversity: Assessment & Conservation (CCC 706), Environmental Impact Assessment (CCC 406), Use of Energy in our Daily Life (CCC 624), and Green Energy Technologies (CCC613) to name a few.
The School of Management and Entrepreneurship offers many core courses with sustainability elements integrated across the curriculum of undergraduate and graduate programs. Sustainable Business Strategy (STM205) is a three-credit course. As a part of its project, the students are encouraged to look at the Campus as a Living Lab and work on sustainability initiatives for the Shiv Nadar campus. These projects address several key topics in sustainability, such as air quality, solar power, sustainable transport, no plastic, waste management for a circular economy, and many more, enabling them to think of sustainability as a living reality.
Student Initiatives
Green the Red – An initiative to improve the well-being of the workers and the environment.
The masters students of the School of Management and Entreprenurship organized a Donation Drive (as part of their marketing project) to arrange reusable cloth sanitary napkins for Group D women employees (janitors, security, gardeners) at Shiv Nadar University.
The idea was to address the use of disposable sanitary napkins that most use, which have adverse effects on the health of women and the environment and indirectly affect the well-being of sanitation workers and us due to the prevailing waste disposal practices.
The students also aimed to raise a minimum of 15,000 INR+ based on surveys and statistics on the purchase of cloth sanitary napkins for these women.
Thrift Store – All about Sustainability
This student-created concept on campus encourages everyone to donate pre-loved items like clothing, footwear, stationery, books, etc. The pricing is mutually decided between the core team of the ZIRO store and the donor. This became a popular activity to give back to the community and, at the same time, earn some money.
Student Research Project
Solar drying system with heat storage
A PhD student, Ajay Pratap Singh, under the guidance of Dr. Sumit Tiwari, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, is working on solar energy technology. Solar Pond is a unique solar energy technology that combines solar energy collection and heat storage principles. It consists of three layers, which are the lower convective zone (LCZ), non-convective zone (NCZ), and upper convective zone (UCZ), allowing it to trap and store solar energy for various applications such as power generation, water heating, solar drying or industrial processes. Introducing a heat storage material in the solar pond can enhance overall energy system sustainability due to absorbing heat during sunny hours and releasing heat during non-sunshine hours.
The PVT-TEC air collector integrated mixed-mode greenhouse dryer with heat storage material (PCM) is a hybrid system that incorporates photovoltaic (PV), thermoelectric cooler (TEC), and thermal technologies to generate electricity and produce heat for drying applications. The product kept in the tray is heated by direct energy, which comes from the sun, and indirect energy, which comes from the PVT-TEC air collector, and then convective and evaporative heat loss takes place, and the product is dry. The heat storage material (PCM) is provided inside the drying cabin, stores heat during the day, and releases heat during non-shine hours. Heat storage material (PCM) integrated with a solar dryer makes the hybrid system sustainable and maintains zero carbon emissions.
Fig. 1 Solar Pond with heat storage
Fig. 2 PVT-TEC air collector integrated mixed-mode greenhouse dryer with heat storage material.
Research
The School of Management and Entrepreneurship (SME) publishes many case studies addressing the broad theme of Sustainability: ESG and SDG collection within Ivey Publishing Canada.
One case study is titled Nutrinest: Extending A New Sustainable Product Line.
NutriNest, founded by Le Danh Hoang, was the first to introduce farmed bird’s nest products in Vietnam. In January 2018, the company launched a sustainable product line under a new brand called the Green Bird. The Green Bird product line was positioned to meet consumers’ sustainability and health concerns and quickly became the company’s best-selling product. To continue to grow NutriNest, Hoang was facing a crucial decision. Should he focus on the current portfolio of the Green Bird line or add new products? If he chooses to introduce new products, how should he ensure that these products will attract new segments of customers and increase sales? Addressing SDG 12, the case study can also be used in a sustainable management/ sustainable marketing course to teach product management, helping students understand business dilemmas in introducing new sustainable products and how to create differentiation.
The Case Authors are faculty from the School of Management and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Nguyen Quynh Phuong, Dr. Bikramjit Rishi, and Dr. Sundar Venkatesh.
An unexpected Journey: Designing a Framework to Use Social Media for Consumer Well-Being
The advent of social media and the following applications continue to hold significant influence in today’s market landscape. Across the globe, consumers are using social media to access product-related information. However, it also provides information that is helpful to consumers for their well-being. The chapter attempts to bridge the gap in the use of social media for consumer well-being. It identifies relevant consumer well-being models/conceptualizations that are applicable in the context of social media. It also provides a detailed set of model-specific guidelines for marketers to implement in their social media strategy to contribute to consumer well-being. Finally, the chapter discusses the examples of two companies—Nike and Starbucks—whose social media practices have led to high levels of consumer well-being.
Rishi, Bikramjit, and Sarthak Agarwal. “An unexpected journey: designing a framework to use social media for consumer well-being.” In Dealing with Socially Responsible Consumers: Studies in Marketing, pp. 103-128. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2023.
Generation and characterization of bio-oil obtained from the slow pyrolysis of cooked food waste at various temperatures
The study involved generating Bio-oil from slow pyrolysis of cooked food waste (CFW) at various temperatures (300–500 °C). The NMR analysis was used as a qualitative means to characterize the bio-oil for its nature (aliphatic or aromatic). The compounds were then confirmed and quantified using the GC–MS. This analysis indicated that the pyrolysis at low temperature (300 °C) mainly generated carbonyl compounds (Aldehydes, Ketones, Esters, and Oxo groups), Levoglucosans, and Furans (17%, 24%, and 38%, respectively) considered as typical pyrolysis chemicals. Similarly, the pyrolysis at medium temperature (400 °C) generated other compounds that were present in significant quantity, including sugars, aliphatic compounds, nitrogen compounds, acids, phenolic compounds, and alcohols. However, their fraction decreased with increased pyrolysis temperature to 500 °C, and the aromatics fraction increased significantly (>60%). This aromatics fraction was much more than that in a bio-oil from typical biomass, which can be attributed to distinctively different chemical characteristics of CFW due to additional compounds such as starch, proteins, waxes, and oils in CFW. Moreover, the composition of the aromatic fraction was better because a very high percentage of aromatic ethers (>58%), e.g., Benzene, 1,3-bis (3-phenoxyphenoxy), was found at 500 °C which can be converted into aliphatic alkanes, aliphatic alcohols, aromatic derivatives, and platform chemicals using catalyst addition.
Modak, Sourodipto, Priyanka Katiyar, Sanjeev Yadav, Siddharth Jain, Bappaditya Gole, and Dhrubajyoti Talukdar. “Generation and characterization of bio-oil obtained from the slow pyrolysis of cooked food waste at various temperatures.” Waste Management 158 (2023): 23-36.
E-Waste Recycling Behavior in the United Arab Emirates: Investigating the Roles of Environmental Consciousness, Cost, and Infrastructure Support
This study examines whether consumers’ behavior affects e-waste recycling in the UAE. Providing a theoretical model of e-waste recycling behavior based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the paper analyzes the impact of environmental consciousness, infrastructural support, and costs in e-waste recycling. A survey instrument was created to assess this study’s constructs. The theoretical model is tested using data gathered from a survey of UAE residents. PLS-SEM (partial least squares structural equations modeling) is used to assess the data. The results support the use of TPB in the context of e-waste recycling behavior. The study shows intriguing findings regarding the effect of environmental consciousness, perceived infrastructural support, and the cost of e-waste recycling.
Abdul Waheed, Kareem, Abhilasha Singh, Ayisha Siddiqua, Maisa El Gamal, and Mohammed Laeequddin. “E-Waste Recycling Behavior in the United Arab Emirates: Investigating the Roles of Environmental Consciousness, Cost, and Infrastructure Support.” Sustainability 15, no. 19 (2023): 14365.
Crop Water Stress Index for Devising Water Efficient Irrigation Schedules for Wheat Crop
Developing irrigation schedules that lead to efficient water use is imperative. The study is about crop experiments conducted in the humid subtropical climate region of Western Uttar Pradesh, India, where a plant-based index, crop water stress index (CWSI), has been derived for a wheat crop season. Four irrigation treatments, two equipped with drip irrigation and two with flood irrigation, of 25% MAD (drip), 50% MAD (drip), 50% MAD (flood), and a farmer’s field replication (flood) were experimented in the study. MAD is the maximum allowable deficit representing the soil moisture depletion at which irrigation was applied. Research-grade infrared thermometers were used for field measurements of crop canopy temperature. The empirical approach of CWSI is applied to formulate lower and upper baselines utilizing the air temperature humidity parameters. CWSI values for wheat crop for the pre-heading and post-heading stages are derived. The results support that using a plant-based index rather than the conventional soil moisture method can be a more effective method to determine water-efficient irrigation schedules.
Yadav, Aditi, Hitesh Upreti, Gopal Das Singhal, and Jyoti Kumar Sharma. “Crop Water Stress Index for Devising Water Efficient Irrigation Schedules for Wheat Crop.” In World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2023, pp. 435-446. 2023.
Characteristics of thermal comfort in the offices of North-East India
In the context of climate change and global warming, the nexus between energy and buildings is self-explanatory. As per the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Govt. of India data, the primary energy consumption in the building sector is 37% of total primary energy consumption and about 24% of total CO2 emissions. It is evident from the research that thermal comfort, energy efficiency in buildings, and sustainable architecture are interlinked and interdependent. The present study is carried out in the Naturally ventilated offices of North-East India at three representative locations, i.e., Tezpur, Imphal, and Shillong, from warm and humid, Cool and humid, and Cold and cloudy climates, respectively. Data analysis shows that neutral temperature through regression analysis is 26.4 °C, 24.7 °C, and 23.4 °C for Tezpur, Imphal, and Shillong, respectively. Preferred temperature and relative humidity in Tezpur, Imphal, and Shillong offices are 24 °C, 23.5 °C, and 22 °C and 55%, 55%, and 63%, respectively. Probit analysis showed that occupants are more adaptive toward the warmer side of the thermal sensation scale.
Singh, Manoj Kumar, Ryozo Ooka, Hom B. Rijal, and Sanjay Kumar. “Characteristics of thermal comfort in the offices of North-East India.” In E3S Web of Conferences, vol. 396, p. 01037. EDP Sciences, 2023.
Applications of drones in precision agriculture: future of smart and sustainable farming
Agricultural drones/unmanned aerial vehicles are aerial devices that can be employed in precision agriculture (PA). This technology not only helps the farmers increase their farm productivity but also helps in timely and convenient crop monitoring in the fields. Drones facilitate seed sowing, soil condition monitoring, irrigation scheduling, assessing crop conditions for their health, estimating stress, and livestock management. This chapter provides insight into the applications of drones in PA and is helpful to planners and decision-makers in agricultural research.
Tyagi, Ritvik, and Prem Chandra Pandey. “Applications of drones in precision agriculture: future of smart and sustainable farming.” In Remote Sensing in Precision Agriculture, pp. 429-453. Academic Press, 2024.
Conversations on Campus
University Operations
Campus Food Waste Tracking System
The university has a comprehensive and documented food waste tracking system to measure and monitor food waste at each level, i.e., production, handling, storage, processing, and distribution. Taking efficient measures and maintaining a daily food waste log, we have reduced food wastage per person from 26.52 kg in 2018-19 to 10.95 kg in 2022-23. Besides, giving a minimum guarantee to the dining hall vendors to keep a check on production, food waste is used for composting on campus. Packed food is offered in recycled containers.
Free Store on Campus
The free store is a student-led initiative on campus that came into being as a part of their practical project for a course on Executing Marketing Plans (MKT504). The project is to promote the concept of recycling. The university community has enthusiastically responded to converting preloved clothes into re-loved ones for someone else.
Organic Farm - On-going Community-Driven Initiative
The university is in the process of establishing a plan to engage students and community members in the cultivation of organic fruits and vegetables on campus. A five-acre land has been earmarked to enable nature-friendly farming and provide healthy food to students and the community.
Efforts on campus
Plastic
Since 2019, plastic waste has been monitored, tracked, and disposed of through green disposal methods. To date, we have achieved a 47% decrease in plastic waste disposal. Wastepaper collection and disposal happens through government-certified recyclers, who, in turn, provide recycled paper, paper, and other stationery.
• Use of biodegradable disposables, food wrap, etc.
• 64 % reduction in usage of water bottles in the events/meetings,
• 88% reduction in usage of food-grade cling wrap
Water
• Monitoring and control of water wastage Metering,
• Changing taps to reduce the water flow
• Rainwater Harvesting
• installing Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in recycled containers.
Paper conservation
• 53 % decrease in paper consumption (A4 sheets)
• 41% decrease in usage of Toilet Rolls
• 48% decrease in usage of Tissue paper
• 25% decrease in paper Cup
• Food Packaging and Serving on Biodegradable Bagasse
• 87% increase in recycling paper, wood, and plastic waste Waste
Energy
• 85 % of our buildings are certified by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for smart building controls and extensive water conservation processes.
• The installation of 1.1 MW solar power on campus was completed, which caters to 26% of campus energy needs.
• 45% decrease in food waste due to increased awareness, displaying poster messages, student interactive sessions, training to cafeteria staff
• Organic Compost Plant capacity of 200 Kg installed on Campus
• Contracts and systems in place for safely disposing of hazardous and medical waste.
Technology Integration
• Energy Optimization Monitors in our LEED and IGBC-certified building with integrated sensors, IoT devices, and automation systems for optimized energy use and reduced overall environmental impact
• Effective electric vehicle infrastructure on campus to transition 50% of the car fleet to electric vehicles, increase mobility on campus, and reduce carbon footprint and dependency on fossil fuels.
• Modular sewage treatment plant technology is installed on campus and has a capacity of 734 KLD. The STP treats 550 KLD water from the entire campus, including campus housing.
• Monitoring platforms installed to track energy usage, waste generation, water consumption, and other sustainability metrics to enable informed decisions for continuous improvement
• Extensive solar panels installed on campus across academic and residential blocks to transition from complete captive power and generate clean, sustainable energy on campus
• Energy-saving policy embraced, replacing 11KV grid power with 33 KV grid power supply and removing the need for running standby power through diesel generators. In 2023, we brought together a full spectrum of digital experiences, significantly reducing the volume of printed convocation materials.
Partnerships
Shiv Nadar University is located in a region called Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. Dadri is a rapidly urbanizing rural region with high socio-economic inequality and low SDG outcomes. The university is deeply committed to generating a positive impact on the area and, accordingly, has assumed a central role in the Dadri Development Project, a transformative initiative convened by the Shiv Nadar Foundation (SNF), a non-governmental organization. The project aims to create a “model sustainable rural community around Shiv Nadar University.” This commitment is shared by the university leadership, staff, and students and is instilled in the core of the University’s academic mission.
The projects include well-considered, need-based interventions with multi-stakeholder engagement, implemented in phases, supported by thorough evidence, and subjected to rigorous monitoring and evaluation. These projects focus on education, health care, skill development for employability, social safety, nature conservation, agriculture, and imparting knowledge on effective use of resources in our daily life.
Community Initiative - Dadri Development Project
Industry-Academia partnership to drive sustainable technological advancements
Shiv Nadar University, in partnership with Bharat Petroleum’s Corporate Research & Development Centre (CRDC), is a significant stride towards advancing sustainable chemical processing technologies. By focusing on process intensification for highly exothermic reactions, the project aims to develop novel reactor designs that enhance energy efficiency and reduce waste. This initiative aligns with several critical sustainable development goals, including Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure - By fostering sustainable industrial innovation and infrastructure development through advanced reactor designs. Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – By emphasizing efficient heat management and reducing the environmental impact of chemical processes. Goal 13: Climate Action - By enhancing energy efficiency and minimizing waste, our collaboration contributes to efforts to mitigate climate change impacts.
This partnership exemplifies how industry-academia collaborations can drive sustainable technological advancements, aligning with India’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This partnership project is going to have a positive impact on industry standards and environmental sustainability.
Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence is fully committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have embraced a four-pronged strategy for SDGs through teaching, research, our core institutional practices, and partnerships.
Deepa Hazrati
Sr. Manager, Office of the Vice-Chancellor deepa.hazrati@snu.edu.in
Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence
Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India www.snu.edu.in/home