Development of Smart and Green University Towards a Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Campus: Case Study at Universitas Sumatra Utara
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30743/10qam522Keywords:
Smart Building; Green Building; Sustainable Campus; Tropical Climate; Circular EconomyAbstract
Sustainable urban development is critically needed in tropical regions facing unique challenges, including extreme heat, high humidity, and intense rainfall. This study examines the implementation of smart and green building concepts at Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), Indonesia, as a case study to illustrate strategies for creating environmentally friendly campuses. USU has integrated digital technologies and sustainable design principles into its infrastructure, notably through smart buildings that employ IoT sensors and AI-based management systems. These technologies ensure efficient energy use, improved indoor air quality, and reduced resource consumption. Green building strategies, such as passive architectural design, natural ventilation, shaded courtyards, and renewable energy systems, are implemented to mitigate the impacts of tropical climate conditions. Key initiatives include the use of solar panels, wind turbines, biomass pyrolysis, and innovative transportation solutions, such assmart garbage electric vehicles (Smart GeV) and free campus bicycles.Additionally, USU's waste management strategy, highlighted by the establishment of the USU Circularity Centre (UCC), effectively promotes resource circularity by converting waste into compost and alternative fuels. Collaboration with international institutions has further enriched local expertise and facilitated the dissemination of best practices. However, the study identifies critical barriers hindering broader adoption, including fragmented governance, limited financial incentives, insufficient skilled human resources, and a lack of tailored climate-specific standards. Strategic recommendations to overcome these challenges involve improving regulatory coherence, enhancing financial support mechanisms, investing in capacity-building initiatives, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaborations. The study concludes that USU's experience provides a replicable model for other tropical universities, highlighting the pivotal role educational institutions can play as pioneers of urban sustainability and thereby contributing significantly to global environmental objectives.
References
Alexandri, E. (2007). Green cities of tomorrow. Sustainable Construction, Materials and Practices, 710-717.
Chao, A. L., et al. (2020). Indicators Framework for Sustainable Urban Design. Atmosphere, 11, 1143.
Sharma, S., et al. (2020). Effect of restricted emissions during COVID-19 on air quality in India. Science of the Total Environment, 728, 138878.
GBCI. (2021). Net Zero Healthy. Green Building Council Indonesia.
Bijimi, C. K. (2013). The Relevance of Good Urban Design in Managing Urban Sprawl in Nigeria. International Journal of Technology Enhancements and Emerging Engineering Research, 1(4), 123-125.
Stauskis, G. (2013). Green Architecture Paradigm: From Urban Utopia To Modern Methods Of Quality Assessment. Science – Future Of Lithuania, 5(3), 181-188.
USGBC. (2020). LEED Certification System. U.S. Green Building Council.
IFC. (2019). EDGE Certification System. International Finance Corporation.
Al-Azzawi, W., et al. (2018). Radio-friendly building for efficient signal distribution. IEEE International Conference.
Tushar, W., et al. (2018). IoT for green building management. arXiv preprint arXiv:1805.10635.
Carmona, M. (2009). Sustainable Urban Design: Definitions and Delivery. International Journal for Sustainable Development, 12(1), 48-77.
Rehan, R. M. (2012). Sustainable streetscape as an effective tool in sustainable urban design. HBRC Journal, 9, 173-186.
Fachrudin, H. T., et al. (2023). Green Street Design Approach to Realize Green City. Future Cities and Environment, 9(1), 8.
Fachrudin, H. T., et al. (2024). Sustainable Streetscape Design Based on Functional Aspects. E3S Web of Conferences, 519, 03004.
Warman, E., et al. (2018). Energy cost unit of street lighting system. IOP Conference Series.
GBCI. (2022). BSD Green Office Park Certification Profile.
Fitriana, D., et al. (2022). Cross-sectoral policy integration for sustainable urban governance.
Hasmawaty, et al. (2022). Building green smart city capabilities. Sustainability, 14(13), 7695.
Bibri, S. E., & Krogstie, J. (2023). Smart sustainable cities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 166, 234-248.
Liu, Z., et al. (2024). IoT-Based Smart Energy Framework. Frontiers in Public Health, 12.
Nabaei, S. H., et al. (2025). Multimodal data integration for sustainable indoor gardening. arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.21932.
Xu, H., et al. (2024). Leveraging generative AI for urban digital twins. arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.19464.
Zhu, S., et al. (2022). Urban green infrastructure morphology. Building and Environment, 207, 108449.
Andric, I., et al. (2020). Efficiency of green roofs and walls in climate change mitigation. Energy Reports, 6, 2472-2489.
Susca, T. (2019). Green roofs energy performance. Building and Environment, 162, 106273.
GBCI. (2016). Greenship Existing Building Version 1.1. Green Building Council Indonesia.
Pradipta, et al. (2022). Contextualizing Greenship certification. Journal of Environmental Management.
Kali, M., et al. (2019). Urban warming causes and adaptation. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism Research, 3(1).
Fachrudin, H. T., et al. (2023). Green infrastructure and urban resilience. Urban Ecology Journal.
KLHK. (2020). Program Kampung Iklim (ProKlim).
Garde, F., et al. (1998). Quality standards for natural cooling. Building and Environment, 34(1).
Alwetaishi, M., & Balabel, A. (2020). Thermal performance of passive strategies. Journal of Building Engineering, 30.
Bibri, S. E. (2018). Integration of IoT technology in buildings. Sustainable Cities Journal.
Narada Gunawan, K., et al. (n.d.). Optimization of Urban Thermal Environment. Urban Climate Modeling.
Nabaei, S. H., et al. (2025). AI-based predictive maintenance in buildings. Sustainable Engineering Review.
Etzkowitz, H., & Leydesdorff, L. (2000). The Triple Helix model. Research Policy, 29(2).
Lubis, M. D., et al. (2021). Application of green concept. IOP Conference Series.
Nguyen, T. T. H., et al. (2024). Smart city frameworks. Cities, 121.
Setyowati, A. B. (2020). Smart grid innovations in Indonesia. Energy Research & Social Science, 71.
Prasetiyo, W. H., et al. (2021). Nature-based solutions in urban planning. Environmental Science & Policy, 126.
Dewi, O. C., et al. (2020). Sustainable urban management policies. Earth and Environmental Science, 448.
Pérez, G., et al. (2018). Vertical greenery systems. Energy and Buildings, 173.
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (4.5 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fahmi, Hermansyah Alam
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
