IZTECH’s Sustainability Vision in International Literature: “Our Green Campus Journey” Published as a Book Chapter
Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) shared its strategic moves towards building a sustainable future with the international scientific community. The institute’s work towards its “green campus” goal was published as a book chapter in Springer’s prestigious “World Sustainability Series.”
A Global Guide: The GreenMetric Journey
The study, featured in the book “Green Metric in Higher Education: Measuring and Reporting on Sustainability Initiatives at Higher Education Institutions,” which addresses the measurement and reporting of sustainability initiatives in higher education institutions, is titled “GreenMetric Journey of Izmir Institute of Technology: Agile Strategies Towards a Green Campus.”
This scientific study has established IZTECH’s campus-wide projects as a model of “institutional cultural transformation” in the international academic community, going beyond physical change. The article, which has entered the literature, covers a wide range of topics, from reducing carbon footprints to energy efficiency, rainwater harvesting, and nature-friendly architectural solutions.
Waste Oil Turned into Scholarships, Treatment Projects Turned into Drinking Water
The study, which documents IZTECH’s strategic management at an international level, highlights unique social responsibility and environmental models. In addition to supporting the campus landscape with wastewater management and providing drinking water to students through advanced treatment projects, the model that provides scholarship funds to students through the recycling of collected waste oils was among the most notable elements of the project.
Rector Baran: “Sustainability is not a Choice, It is a Responsibility”
Commenting on the subject, IZTECH Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Baran stated that they are determined to spread their research capacity to all areas of life, noting: “This section, where we describe our institute’s sustainability journey, makes the strategic steps we have taken towards our green campus vision visible at an international level. As a research university, we do not just produce knowledge; we transform that knowledge into a model for a more livable and sustainable world. I would like to thank our Faculty Member from the Department of Architecture, Prof. Dr. İpek Akpınar, our Faculty Member from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hatice Eser Ökten, our PhD Student from the Department of Architecture, Eylem Keskin, and all our stakeholders who contributed to this valuable work with me.”
“Campus of the Future, Strategy of Today”
Published by Springer, the study also reveals the theoretical and practical foundations of IZTECH’s rising graph in the “UI GreenMetric” ranking, which evaluates the sustainability performance of universities worldwide.
IZTECH has gained remarkable momentum in the list that ranks environmentally friendly campuses. Ranked 198th in 2021, the Institute rose to 123rd place in the list, which evaluated 1,745 higher education institutions from 105 countries in 2025, proving its steady development with concrete success. IZTECH continues to strengthen its pioneering role in sustainable modeling in higher education with its “Agile Strategies” approach.
