Environmental Sustainability: a key element in climate change adaptation

<strong>SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY </strong> a talk on <strong>Environmental Sustainability: a key element in climate change adaptation</strong> Speaker: <strong>Prof. Syed E. Hasan</strong> Professor Emeritus, Environmental Geoscience, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO, USA. Date: <strong>2nd February 2016</strong> <strong>Abstract: </strong>Environmental sustainability is one of the key elements in adaptation to climate change that calls for multi-pronged approach to achieve the 2oC goal by the end of the current century. One of the proven ways to reduce energy and water consumption, transportation cost, and "going green" has evolved at a university in the United States Midwest in recent years. The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) through a collaborative approach, involving students, faculty and staff, formed a sustainability team with clear and achievable annual goals toward greening the campus. This initiative has resulted in remarkable progress in meeting the university's goal of zero-waste, campus greening, lower energy use, and waste minimization. These efforts led to UMKC's ranking as the top school in 2013 in the U.S. in the annual Recycle Mania competition, and its listing among the top 100 Cool Schools in the U.S. by the prestigious Sierra Club magazine. Details of the sustainability program and the role played by the campus community in achieving national honors, along with recommendations on how to design a similar program at other campuses, will be discussed in the presentation.