Mahidol University ranks first in Thailand on environmental friendliness

A ranking by the University of Indonesia shows that Mahidol University ranks first in Thailand, and 36th in the world, for the most environmentally friendly university.

Several world university rankings have been published based on indicators of academic excellence, reputation, student satisfaction, and value for money. But one notable ranking focuses solely on university's "greenness". It is called the "UI Green Metric World University Ranking", published by the University of Indonesia.

And according to the ranking for 2012, published this year, Mahidol University is Thailand's "greenest" university. It ranks 11th in Asia and 36th in the world, out of the 215 universities that took part in the ranking.

The ranking is based on six areas of environmental friendliness: setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, and transportation. A university will score well if, for example, it has a larger proportion of green space, a better toxic waste management system, and comprehensive public transport services to limit the number of cars on campus. The test, of course, takes into account the size of the campus and whether the campus is urban or rural, to ensure that there is no bias against large urban campuses.

Mahidol University's environmental policy is guided by the concept "a promised land to live and learn with nature". It has a policy to maintain at least 70% of its campus area in Salaya (ศาลายา) as green space.

Vice Rector Professor Suwanna Ruangkanchanaset (สุวรรà¸"า เรืองกาญจนเศรษฐ์) said that her university has a number of working projects that helped the university score well in the ranking. These include the project to turn half of the roads in the campus into bike lanes and walking paths, a system of tram services running on NGV, a policy to encourage bike use, and "green wall" project, and a comprehensive water treatment system.

The university's environmental policies are contributed by Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, which has been offering degree programmes on environmental management for 30 years. Now it offers 67 subjects at the undergraduate level, 28 at master's degree level, and a doctorate program in Environmental and Resource Studies.

The UI Green Metric ranking also sees some other Thai universities ranking in the world's top 100 on environmental friendliness. King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi ranks 38th, while Chulalongkorn University ranks 41st in the world.

Last year it was Kasetsart University, who took the top spot among Thai universities, ranking at the 44th place in the world. At the time, however, Mahidol University did not participate.

( Prach Panchakunathorn)

Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/02/18/mahidol-university-ranks-first-in-thailand-on-environmental-friendliness/