The role of Green Campus Initiative (GCI) as integral part of environmental and sustainable resources utilization : a case study of Durban University of Technology

Abstract

The Green Campus Initiative (GCI) is quite an old movement around the world, but it was only initiated in South Africa in 2012 by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande. The reason behind the initiating this movement was to make institutions of higher learning mindful of the negative natural effects that are brought about by their everyday socio-economic activities. Moreover, the GCI movement looked to provide a platform for students to gain information and get involved in the movement for change and sustainability. Numerous universities in South Africa participate in GCI, but encounter numerous challenges and limitations, which curtail full-scale implementation and beneficiation. The objectives of this study were to assess the progress on the Green Campus Initiative programs, examine the impact that the GCI has had at DUT, determine the challenges of implementing GCI at the DUT and investigate mechanisms of promoting GCI at DUT. Extensive literature review was conducted to locate the study within existing research. This study used qualitative research method, conducting interviews with some stakeholders and questionnaires to others. Data were analysed using qualitative techniques such as themes, words, word cloud, word trees and others. The study found that while quite a number of activities had been done in the past to promote GCI and prizes won at interuniversity competitions, GCI at DUT was still facing a number of challenges. These challenges emanated mainly from the lack of environmental policy, which would enable the university to develop a fully-fledged GCI office. The study also discovered that academic departments were involved on an ad hoc voluntary basis resulting in some not promoting GCI.