Circular Campus
The campus should be also considered as an economy. Based on the circular campus core thinking ranging from a linear economy to circular economy, the campus is expected to move toward a zero-pollution and sustainable recycling campus. CYCU executed the “Declaration of Environmental Protection and Health & Safety Policy” in 2013.
Recyclable Resources
Each building on CYCU is equipped with a recycling station. The recycling work is periodically contracted to service suppliers.
Recycling
(a) Set up recycling stations throughout the campus
(b) Set up a second-hand products exchange platform
(c) Construction materials recycling
(d) Adoption of usable property or goods from other units
(e) Donation of Books
(f) Integrate into course teaching and use recycled materials to create works and derive
other artworks
Organic Carbon Circular Resources
While practicing recycling on campus, fallen leaves on campus are processed into organic fertilizers which may help with waste reduction. CYCU has fallen leaves weighing about 3 tons per month. For the time being, there are two leaf stacking yards in place and the Department of Landscape Architecture procured one leaf processing machine dedicated to processing fallen leaves into organic fertilizers for gardening.
CYCU has implemented the green office and waste management precisely and won the Distinguished Award-1st Place in the Taoyuan City Inter-school Resource Recycling Competition-College Group from 2017 to 2021 (winner for five consecutive years). The Department of Environmental Protection, Taoyuan also contracted CYCU to organize recycling benchmarking learning and visiting activities twice (in 2018 and 2020). In 2020, CYCU received the 2nd National Enterprise Environmental Protection Award [Nominated]. CYCU uses recycled materials to create decorative arts and sets up the creative resource recycling station. CYCU also won the distinguished award in the Taoyuan City Inter-school Resource Recycling Competition. The Department of Environmental Protection, Taoyuan also invited TBC to interview CYCU.
Promotion of Carbon Neutrality
CYCU knows that universities must bear the mission and liability to cultivate future global citizens, and must be responsible for the education and practicing of environmental sustainability. For the time being, CYCU has set 2022 as the benchmark year for promotion of environmental sustainability to establish the target for implementation of sustainability.
There are two ways to achieve carbon neutrality. The first is low-carbon or net-zero emissions technology. For example, use renewable energyto avoid CO2 emitted into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels and achieve the ultimate goal of only using low-carbon energy sources instead of fossil fuels, to balance the carbon emissions and absorption back to the earth. The second is the carbon offsetting mechanism. For example, afforestation, carbon trading to exchange for CO2 emission rights to save costs while the emission reduction target remains unchanged. The net-zero emission action strategies promoted by CYCU are stated as following:
CYCU explores software and hardware facilities in the overall campus environment based on macro thinking and takes the SDGs as the guide to explore the corresponding policies in the existing campus environment. Carbon neutrality is promoted based on the overall planning but implemented in steps:
1st Step: Creating an integrated model of environment and teaching
2nd Step: Remodeling to conserve energy and a green campus environment
3rd Step: Create a healthy and humanistic sustainable campus
CYCU has set 2022 as the benchmark year for promoting a sustainable campus. Meanwhile, it takes an inventory of controllable items for promotion of a sustainable environment from the four aspects of resources and carbon circulation, water and green, energy and microclimate, and environment and health, as shown in the following chart:
