AIT's Botanical Garden Net Zero Campus: A Leap Towards Sustainable Climate Action Plan
In 2003, AIT collaborated with the Thai Government’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to create the Queen Sirikit Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Climate change, our paramount challenge, led to global commitments like the Paris Agreement, COP26, and COP27.
AIT’s responded to the immediate need by committing to foster an all-encompassing botanical garden campus, combating both climate change and biodiversity loss. AIT envisions achieving Net Zero status by 2030, with reference to an institute-wide campus plan concept note endorsed by the AIT Executive Committee on 19 Dec 2022 and by the Board of Trustees of AIT, highlighting its commitment to sustainability. By integrating the project with its earlier campus plans, AIT takes a significant step forward with a pledge toward 100% renewable energy and exemplifying how institutions can proactively contribute to a healthier planet.
AIT’s Vision: Net Zero and the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy
AIT, renowned for its lush greenery, aims to consolidate its natural assets into a comprehensive plan for achieving Net Zero Emissions and fostering the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy. This initiative entails minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and utilizing natural ecosystems to offset any remaining pollutants. Aligning with global efforts, AIT joins over 1000 educational institutions in the ‘Race to Zero’, committing to substantial emission cuts by 2030. Collaborating with industry partners like Thailand’s Bangchak Corporation, AIT aspires to set an example for sustainable practices, merging academia with a thriving, eco-friendly environment, and contributing to a more sustainable future.
AIT Sustainability Policy Statement
As per the AA-1-2-9 “AIT Sustainability Policy”, published on 8 Dec 2021
AIT’s vision and definition of sustainability encompasses fostering a transition towards sustainability while reflecting a balance of economic, environmental, and socially responsible values through education, knowledge generation, translating knowledge into practice, and practicing those sustainability ideals in its day-to-day and strategic operations.
Therefore, AIT’s goals are to become low carbon, resource recycling, renewable energy powered, green, and environmentally friendly educational hub and practice them. This considers not only what goes in AIT but also its sustainability footprints elsewhere. To operationalize these vision and goals, AIT’s sustainability policy elaborated here provides a set of rules and guidance to integrate sustainability principles in its academic, research, administration, campus development, and engagement with stakeholders.
AIT Carbon Foot Print
An organization’s carbon footprint signifies the quantity of greenhouse gases released through diverse operational activities, including fuel combustion, electricity consumption, waste handling, and transportation. It is measured in tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and can be categorized into three main segments, known as SCOPES:
SCOPE I: Involves the direct calculation of the carbon footprint, encompassing emissions from internal activities like machinery combustion, use of company-owned vehicles, chemicals in wastewater treatment, and process-related leaks.
SCOPE II: Encompasses the indirect carbon footprint derived from energy usage, including the procurement of energy for organizational use, such as electricity, heat, and steam.
SCOPE III: Covers the assessment of other indirect emissions, including employee travel in non-corporate vehicles, off-site seminar attendance, and the utilization of various materials and equipment.
Developing an organization’s carbon footprint, also known as the Corporate Carbon Footprint, serves as a method to present data on greenhouse gas emissions resulting from an organization’s operations. AIT is committed to measuring the carbon footprint caused by all three scopes This analysis aids us in establishing management strategies to effectively curtail greenhouse gas emissions.
In the year 2022, the overall carbon footprint of 8367 (tCO2e), which includes emissions caused by Scope-I, Scope-2 and Scope-3
Action plan to Foster NET ZERO Campus by 2030
The Asian Institute of Technology is resolutely committed to the transformation of its campus into a “Botanical Garden Net Zero Campus” by the year 2030. To realize this ambitious objective, AIT has meticulously devised a climate action plan in 2022, outlining specific strategies geared towards achieving the net-zero status. The immediate plan encompasses several key projects, including the 1.5 MW Solar rooftop Project, which has already secured a contract and is projected to become fully operational by September 2024. Additionally, discussions are underway for the implementation of a 4 MW solar floating project covering a 20-acre area on the AIT reservoir, which will enable AIT to be 100% Renewable Energy-sourced campus. For more details click here Concurrently, Projects 3 and 4 are focusing on the ongoing evaluation and cost analysis for the decentralization of the air conditioning system to a VRF system, and the transition to LED lighting in all academic buildings to curtail energy consumption and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. These initiatives are slated to commence in 2024.
Furthermore, the institution is placing considerable emphasis on incorporating green spaces both within and around its buildings, with the dual purpose of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating a complete shift to renewable energy sources. In alignment with its vision of establishing a Botanical Garden Net Zero Campus, AIT is actively exploring nature-based solutions through the introduction of new plantations, effective forest management, and the utilization of campus resources for biochar production. Moreover, this approach seeks to enhance overall efficiency by promoting the adoption of sustainable practices such as reducing paper usage, embracing environmentally-friendly procurement methods, and advocating eco-conscious travel alternatives.
