Sustainability Practices.

IITH - Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity.

Message from

Our Director

Dear friends,

As we journey towards a sustainable future through Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity (IITH), I am delighted to showcase IITH's initiatives aligned with the UN's 17 SDGs. Our institution has made significant strides in achieving sustainability goals, which an admirable progress. Today, I emphasize our commitment to key aspects of our Sustainability Policy, including promoting innovation, addressing the SDGs, and striving for a greener and more equitable world. Together, we can make a lasting impact and contribute to a better future for all:

  • No Poverty: IITH provides various scholarships and fellowships to economically unprivileged students, elevating not only their lives but also the coming generations.
  • Zero Hunger: We not only provide healthy food to our community but also create awareness on reducing food wastage, as every grain saved is every grain gained. In addition, we convert the unavoidable food waste to biogas and vermicompost, which contributes to our green campus.
  • Good Health and Well-being: Our 24x7 health centre caters to the medical needs of our entire community, providing essential services, emergency care, and health education. We are committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle among our members.
  • Read more...

Minimizing Waste

Generating Energy

Promoting Climate-Friendly Transportation

Enhancing Local Biodiversity

Pursuing Cutting-edge Climate-related Interdisciplinary Research and Education.

Seeding Climate Entrepreneurship and Leadership

Let's know more about

The steps of IIT-H towards Sustainability Practices

IITH strives to proactively contribute to generating knowledge and capacity and undertake practical actions aimed at understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change locally and globally. The Institute has already undertaken several initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint and contribute positively towards future climate action.

  • IIT Hyderabad has received the coveted Haritha Haram Awards by CII Telangana Chapter on 02-03-2022 from Shri K T Rama Rao, Honourable Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology of Telangana, in the august presence of Shri Jayesh Ranjan (IAS), Principal Secretary to Govt. of Telangana, Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telanganagovernment and other esteemed dignitaries
  • Greenko, IIT-H sign pact to set up School for Sustainable S&T Read more...

Initiatives

Check our Initiatives

Minimizing Waste

IITH is committed to minimizing its waste and maximizing use of its resources before safely discarding them for further processing. Key initiatives here include:

  • Wastewater processing: IITH has established a wastewater processing plan on its campus. Processed wastewater is used to supply the institute’s cooling plants and as flush water.
  • Recycling: A comprehensive solid waste recycling program that includes packing material, paper, cardboards, scrap metal, and hazardous e-waste has been established among campus residents.
  • Biogas: Wet waste on campus is used as feedstock for a bio digester which supplies cooking fuel for the student dining hall. The vegetable peelings and food residue, which are generated in the dining hall, canteen, and residential areas will be degraded in the digester to produce biogas which will be then sent back to the dining hall kitchen. This will reduce our fossil fuel consumption. The biosolid that is generated as a part of the digestion process will be converted to compost at our Resource Recovery Park.

Conserving Flora and Fauna

The conservation of Flora and Fauna is considered one of the most pressing environmental concerns today.

  • We have many good variety of birds in our campus which includes peacocks and few migratory cranes.
  • Besides that, we also have different variety of trees.

Air Quality Monitoring Unit at Our Campus

Continuous Air Quality Monitoring Station (CAQMS) has been set up with the support of Telangana State Pollution Control Board as part of the National Clean Air Programme.

  • The station has now been activated and the values are being displayed in near real-time (as 15 minute to 1-hour average values) at the main gate. Now the data being obtained is under observation by the third-party and they are meant to run the station [maintain/recalibrate the analyzers, probes and the electronics.
  • The station instruments measure several criteria pollutants and trace gases: PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NOx, O3, NH3, CO along with some weather parameters such as wind direction, speed, temperature and relative humidity.

Generating Energy

IITH aims to become climate positive:

  • At present, the Institute has established a solar power generation facility with a 1 MW capacity with a future target to increase it upto 3 MW.
  • Wet waste on campus is also used to generate cooking fuel.
  • The Institute also saves energy by using sensor-based systems to switch off lights during periods of non-use.
  • Student housing on campus is cooled by passive radiant cooling techniques which also effectively reduce the campus’ energy demands. Radiant cooling is implemented in 6.0 lakh sqft to provide cooling providing thermal comfort at a reduced operational cost.

Promoting Climate-Friendly Transportation

  • In 2021, IITH introduced EV-based transportation options on its campus, with shuttle services every 15 minutes that operate on the 3 km stretch between the institute’s main gate and its academic buildings.
Besides that, campus residents are encouraged to bicycle. Rent-free short term bicycle rentals are also available on the IITH campus.

Enhancing Local Biodiversity

IITH is committed to minimize its environmental footprint. The Institute has initiated a number of programs with this aim. These include:

  • Starting October 2020, Monthly plantation drives that draw together the campus community in planting indigenous plant species in different parts of the campus have been carried out.
  • First Saturday of every month has been identified as Plantation Day, which resulted in planting more than 15,000 plants with more than 100 varieties of species. Drip irrigation for all plants is being set up.
  • IITH also seeks to minimize the use of harmful fertilizers and has established a vermicomposting facility on its campus.
  • Single use plastics have been banned on campus.

Pursuing Cutting-edge Climate-related Interdisciplinary Research and Education

Faculty and students at IITH are engaged in internationally leading cutting-edge research and teaching programs focused on various aspects of climate change.

  • The Institute was among the first to establish a Department of Climate Change that integrates knowledge and practice across the realms of climate sciences, engineering, and policy.
  • Currently, IITH offers Master’s level programs focused on Climate Change, e-Waste Management, and Environmental Engineering and an undergraduate minor in Climate Change.
  • Several facilities, such as the bio-digester unit are also used for pedagogical purposes, cultivating next-generation environmental leadership.

Seeding Climate Entrepreneurship and Leadership

IITH hosts an incubator facility to encourage student and faculty-led innovation. Climate-related innovation is strongly encouraged.

  • IITH also hosts an Unnat Bharat Abhiyan cell and a Rural Development Center through which it coordinates a range of projects aimed at all-round development, including projects focused on environmental stewardship, in villages in IITH’s neighboring regions.
  • In addition to contributing positively to the local society, these projects also foster contextually-sensitive environmental leadership among participating faculty and students.
  • IITH also supports student clubs and other activities that foster climate leadership. For example, the Prakriti Club on campus.
  • “BIODIVERSITY ON CAMPUS” was the theme identified for the Institute’s 2021 annual calendar, encouraging the campus community to contribute photographs from the campus that documented its biodiversity.

Through such measures, the Institute seeks to create an awareness for and appreciation of the campus’ ecological contexts among the IITH community.


Targets for Future

IITH has taken several steps to realize its aspirations to play a leadership role in evolving and undertaking climate positive frameworks and actions. To this end, the Institute has established a Climate Action Committee tasked with further developing a holistic framework to shape its short-term and long-term Climate Action Plan along with specified targets and measurable impacts.

Video Highlights

Explore Our Progress

Achievements Of IIT-H

Trees Planted PLANTATION DRIVE- First saturday of every month we organise plantation drive.

Years of experience In upcoming years we will try to contribute more and more towards sustainable development.


Events

Related to Sustainable Development

Rain Water harvesting

Lake near Staff Tower

With the vision to conserve the rain water, Many water reservoirs are conserved in our campus.

Haritha Haram Awards

IIT Hyderabad has received the coveted Haritha Haram Awards by CII Telangana Chapter on 02-03-2022

Man on mission

“Energy Swaraj Yatra” (2020-30)

Prof. Solanki, IIT Bombay also known as "SOLAR MAN OF INDIA" visited our campus many times with solar bus. He also demonstrated the “Energy Swaraj bus,” which has faciities for work, meeting, sleeping, cooking, washing and training.

Cleanliness Drive

----------

Our institute organises "CLEAN DRIVE" to promote the importance of cleanliness on Second saturday of every month.

Bicycle Day

-----

Bicycle Day organised in our campus with a motive to promote the importance of ecofriendly transportation.

Radiant Cooling

As energy saver

Our hostel have unique radiant cooling method which maintains the temperature of the rooms of students.

Students led Activities

For Sustainable Community

  • AERO- Aeronautics and Drone Design Club
  • CEPHEID- The Astronomy and Astrophysics Club
  • ELEKTRONICA- The Electronics & Signal Processing Club
  • EPOCH- The AI-ML & Data Science Club
  • INFERO- The Algorithmic and Logical Reasoning Club
  • KLUDGE- The Information Security and Networking Club
  • LAMBDA- The Dev Club
  • PRAKRITI- Nature club of IITH
  • ROBOTIX- The Robotics and Automation Club
  • TORQUE- The Automobile Engineering and Design Club
  • GLITCH- The Video Game Club
  • GDSC- Google Developer Student Club

Contact

Contact Office of Sustainability

Location:

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Sangareddy, Telangana-502284