'Sustainable Campuses' launched in South, Metro

MANILA, Philippines - Environmentalist Greenpeace has launched a program geared towards transforming school campuses into models of sustainable energy.

“With its increasing power requirements possibly reaching crisis proportions by the year 2014, Mindanao becomes a key constituency to spearhead a vision of the Philippines leading the rest of the world in a revolution in the way energy is produced, distributed and used. Even at present, Mindanao is experiencing power shortages. This is where energy solutions such as energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) are most needed and will have the greatest impact,” said Amalie Obusan, climate and energy campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The pilot Sustainable Campuses program for Ateneo de Davao University, Mindanao State University and the University of Southeastern Philippines, was formally launched by Greenpeace Aug. 19 during the closing of the two-day “Energy (R)evolution Mindanao Summit,” which was held at the Waterfront Insular Hotel. This was attended by lawmakers, government and community leaders, representatives from financial institutions and the energy sector. In Metro Manila, three schools are also launching Sustainable Campus programs: St. Paul University in Quezon City, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Makati, and St. Scholastica in Manila.

“Participating universities will be taught the necessary skills to assist in a school-wide energy audit, the results of which shall be used as baseline data for subsequent energy consumption measurements. They will also be equipped with the skills and resources to implement a public awareness campaign promoting energy efficiency measures.”