Although UCT does not publish a single, labelled “Climate Action Plan” document, in 2024 the university deployed a publicly-available, multi-document climate action architecture that together functions as its Climate Action Plan. Key elements include: the UCT Carbon Footprint Assessment (2024) and public Net Zero Carbon target (2050 or sooner) reported in accordance with the International Greenhouse Gas Protocol; the Environmental Sustainability Strategy (roadmap to a net zero carbon campus (Scope 1 & 2), and net zero water and net zero waste-to-landfill campus by 2050 or sooner); operational mitigation actions (Energy Performance Certificates for large buildings completed in 2022 and rooftop PV procurement and installations in 2022–2024); adaptation and resilience programmes (Khusela Ikamva water-sensitive campus living lab in 2024); and circular-economy waste projects (waste-to-energy pilot, Oct 10, 2024). Together these published plans and project reports, which are shared widely, including with local government and local community groups via UCT’s website, provide the inventory, targets, mitigation/adaptation measures, and monitoring that constitute a comprehensive institutional climate action response.
1. Environmental Sustainability Strategy - UCT’s overall roadmap (published/discussed in 2022–2024; referenced in UCT news Sept 27, 2024)
UCT’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy is the university’s roadmap towards becoming a net zero carbon, net zero water, and net zero waste-to-landfill campus by, or before, 2050. The strategy sets long-term net-zero goals and identifies priority areas: energy/carbon, water, waste, human health & well-being, and “campus as a living lab”.
This is the institutional umbrella strategy that frames UCT’s net zero ambitions and links the component plans below.
2. Carbon footprint inventories & Net-Zero target (Carbon Footprint Assessment Report, 2024)
UCT commissioned a Carbon Footprint Assessment (2024) that reports in accordance with the International Greenhouse Gas Protocol and states an institutional target: Net Zero Carbon Campus (Scope 1 & 2) by 2050. The overall inventory includes Scope 1, 2 and Scope 3 but Scope 3 is not included in the Net Zero target (2024).
The inventory gives an auditable measurement base and an explicit Net Zero date (2050) for Scopes 1 & 2 — a key element of any Climate Action Plan.
3. Energy / Buildings measures & EPCs (2022–2024) - energy performance and rooftop PV rollout
UCT completed Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for all buildings >2,000 m² in 2022 and documented solar PV installations and procurement plans (small PV installs completed in 2022; larger solar PV installations on 4 rooftops completed in late 2024 to the tune of roughly 400 kWp with an additional two installations in design stage.
UCT also replaces lighting and HVAC systems that are due for replacement with the most energy efficient alternatives that are available at the time.
Built-environment measures (EPCs, PV rollout) are primary mitigation levers to reduce Scope-1/2 emissions; EPC completion and energy efficient HVAC and lighting instalations are tangible evidence of operational planning and implementation.
4. Sustainable Water Management & ‘Khusela Ikamva’ (water-sensitive campus living-lab) - practical resilience & adaptation
(Khusela Ikamva reporting 2023–2024)
UCT has prepared a detailed Sustainable Water Management Strategy - the executive summary was published online. As part of the strategy a detailed action plan of 800 or so projects were identified. Implementation is well underway with various water savings projects completed in various student residences in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Design and tender of a large central sewage water recycling project was ready for construction at the end of 2024, due for completion at the end of 2025.
The Khusela Ikamva project — a Future Water / campus living-lab initiative — is a 5-year research project that also seeks to explore and research how the campus can become a more water sensitive campus, with the intent of developing various Living Labs that could prototype various initiatives and enable further research on campus sustainability. These actions form UCT’s water-resilience pillar.
Water resilience is integral to climate adaptation; these operational and research projects are the university’s adaptation/early-warning & resilience components.
5. Waste & circular economy projects (2024) - waste-to-energy / food-waste circular projects
UCT has a waste recycling system in place where waste streams on campus are separated via the bin system into recyclable waste (green-lidded bins) and non-recyclable waste (yellow-lidded bins) The waste collection service provider then sorts the waste off-site to sort it into various recyclable waste streams. UCT reports on its waste recycling statistics publicly via its Carbon Footprint Report (2024).
UCT's Khusela Ikamva project is undertaking research on how UCT can convert its food waste into usable energy through biodigesters. This has resulted in a small living lab that is testing this theory and being used to create awareness amongst UCT stakeholders.
Reducing landfill and capturing energy from waste reduces emissions (Scope-3 and operational) and is part of a full climate action architecture.
6. Research & capacity building (CSAG, ACDI) - climate risk training and policy engagement (2024)
CSAG ran the Short Course on Navigating Climate Risk (applications opened 25 Mar 2024) and the CSAG-CONFER Climate Risk Training School (2–6 Sept 2024) aimed at government and practitioner audiences; the African Climate & Development Initiative (ACDI) hosted the first African Climate Change Synthesis Centre in April 2024 — all showing UCT’s role in building adaptation, early-warning and policy capacity.
Climate action requires both mitigation and adaptation capacity; these programmes show UCT supplies the knowledge-to-action links to municipalities and regions.
7. Student & community programmes (Green Campus Initiative; Knowledge Co-op; Summer School NGO showcases) - behaviour change & community education (2024)
Student-led Green Campus Initiative outreach, UCT’s Knowledge Co-op (community-university matching), and the 17 Jan 2024 Summer School NGO exhibition demonstrate education, behaviour change and NGO collaboration that support campus and community climate resilience.
Behaviour change and community outreach are critical to achieving emissions and resilience goals; these activities form part of the holistic plan.
How these component plans together form a Climate Action Plan
- Measurement & target: the Carbon Footprint Assessment (2022) establishes the baseline, methodology (GHG Protocol) and an institutional Net-Zero target (2050 for Scopes 1 & 2).
- Operational mitigation: EPCs, PV procurement and planned infrastructure work (rooftop PV, energy efficiency programmes) provide concrete mitigation measures and timelines.
- Adaptation & resilience: Khusela Ikamva / Future Water and CSAG/ACDI capacity building target water security, early warning and adaptation planning — the adaptation half of climate action.
- Circular economy & waste: Waste-to-energy and waste-management projects address emissions from waste and contribute to resource efficiency.
- Community & education: Student & community programmes and short courses connect UCT’s technical actions to behaviour change, government actors and NGOs, enabling implementation and social buy-in.
Taken together, these published strategies, inventories and project reports provide the constituent elements normally expected in a Climate Action Plan: baseline (inventory), target (net-zero date), mitigation measures (energy/buildings, procurement), adaptation measures (water, resilience), monitoring & reporting, and stakeholder engagement.