ENVIRONMENTALIST APPROACH OF IZMIR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS IS REGISTERED

03 FEBRUARY 2014

Izmir University of Economics (IUE) came in first place among the 4 higher education institutions from Turkey that participated in the most environmentalist universities ranking worldwide. Izmir University of Economics ranked in 254^th place at the "UI Green Metric World University Sustainability Ranking 2013” list published for the 4^th time this year. Among other universities from Turkey, Sabancı University ranked in 260th, Bilkent University 290^th, and Inonu University ranked in 293^rd place.
The main purpose of the study, in which 301 universities from 61 countries have been evaluated, is to promote effort for sustainability by universities in terms of economic, social, and environmental factors, and their commitment to combat climate change. In ranking, the universities were evaluated on the issues as "location and infrastructure", "energy and climate change", "waste management", "water usage", "transportation" and "education".

'Environmentally-friendly university; Izmir Economics'

Prof. Dr. Tunçdan Baltacıoğlu, Rector of Izmir University of Economics, indicated that they started out as becoming an environmentally-friendly university and he said, "The university lecturers and students are developing projects that will increase environmental responsibility. We are supporting the development and expansion of eco-friendly technologies. These principles are also among the basic principles of the United Nations Global Compact Principles. As IUE, we will make every effort to take our place in the international arena.”

'We aim to rank in higher place each year'

Rector Prof. Dr. Baltacıoğlu mentioned that they signed the United Nations Global Compact Principles on November 15, 2012 and stated the following:

“Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies, of the 10 basic principles regarding the environment, are already being integrated to the university administrative system.

Prof. Dr. Murat Adıvar, IUE Vice Rector, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Efe Biresselioğlu, Head of Department of Sustainable Energy, are following up on The United Nations Global Compact membership process of the University. We aim to rank in higher places on the list where the sustainability efforts for environmentally-friendly university administration and campuses are evaluated each year."