18/12/2025
Students taking the “MGMT 301 Introduction to Sustainability” course, offered for the first time this year at Sabancı University, prepared a collective sustainability assessment report. The report, which includes observations on campus life and small but effective steps that can be taken, enhances awareness of Sabancı University's commitment to sustainability.
Sabancı University, which is advancing with a vision to enhance its pioneering position in innovative educational activities, continues to keep the increasingly important field of sustainability on its students' agenda. In this context, the “MGMT 301 – Introduction to Sustainability” course, first offered in the Spring semester of 2025, not only increases awareness of sustainability but also enables this awareness to be put into practice.
Within the scope of the course taught by Prof. Zafer Yenal, a member of Sabancı Business School, 12 reports prepared by students based on their observations, interviews, and personal experiences in different areas of the university were compiled under a single heading.
This collective assessment, authored by our students Aylin Kaplan and Zeynep Çelikhisar and inspired by a presentation given in class by Sabancı University Sustainability Manager Pelin Nur Karaçal, contains important findings regarding sustainable campus management. A few of the prominent points are as follows:
- Electricity consumption in the cafeteria building sometimes exceeds the target level significantly. Fixed portioning practices can lead to food waste. Water waste, however, is lower than expected.
- Plastic consumption is high in dormitory areas, and waste sorting bins could be improved in terms of variety and placement. Devices left plugged in for extended periods lead to ghost energy consumption.
- Ventilation systems in faculty buildings do not always function consistently. Furthermore, the lack of individual study areas leads to increased use of classrooms for individual purposes, which also increases energy consumption.
Printers, projectors, and computers in faculty buildings are also prominent causes of ghost energy consumption (a project is underway to automatically turn off projectors that are not used for 10 minutes).
The recommendations developed by the students based on these observations are summarized in the collective evaluation report as follows:
- Widespread implementation of motion and daylight sensors, which have already been implemented in some faculty buildings for energy efficiency, in all buildings.
- Increasing regular checks of ventilation systems, especially during seasonal changes.
- Placing awareness-raising visuals next to light switches.
- Composting organic waste, supporting relevant personnel in sorting, and sending food waste to contracted animal shelters.
Applications for the Sustainability Minor Program are opening.
Sabancı University, the first university in Türkiye to declare a net-zero carbon emission target and which is intensifying its sustainability efforts, is also opening a new minor program in this field. Applications for the Sustainability Minor Program, which stands out for its inter-faculty nature, will begin on Thursday, July 24, 2025, and end on Friday, August 1, 2025.
You can find more detailed information about the minor program and its requirements, where MGMT 301 is the only compulsory course, at the following link: https://sbs.sabanciuniv.edu/tr/diploma-programlari/lisans
You can also access information about the content of the MGMT 301 course and the activities carried out in the course, prepared by our student Syeda Manaal Amir, on this page: https://manaal-amir.github.io/Sabanci-University-MGMT301/
