The Aga Khan University Sustainable Campus Grant (SCG) is an intramural small grants initiative of the AKU Office of Environment & Sustainability established to support innovative projects and practical initiatives that advance climate action and sustainability across AKU. The initiative aims to empower faculty and staff to actively contribute to the University's environmental sustainability goals by implementing impactful, solution-oriented projects within the campus community.
Funding is allocated through a structured call for proposals, where applicants submit project ideas aligned with AKU's environment and sustainability priorities. All applications are reviewed and evaluated by the Environment and Sustainability Responsibility Council (ESRC), which oversees the selection process and approves projects based on their feasibility, potential for measurable environmental impact, and alignment with institutional priorities.
Priority themes for SCG applications in 2026 were:
- Energy efficiency & low-carbon solutions
- Waste reduction & circular resource use
- Water conservation & sustainable water use
- Biodiversity, green spaces & nature-based solutions
- Environmental engagement & behaviour change
Projects funded in the 2026 inaugural SCG:
AKU's Office of Environment and Sustainability together with members of the AKU Environment and Sustainability Responsibility Council (ESRC) who reviewed incoming applications are excited to announce funding for nine projects in this inaugural year, while many more applications were received. These projects and applications are from across AKU campuses and themes. Overall, this showcases that the culture of sustainability has developed and integrated into our academic mission, operational practices, and innovative research topics.
As projects are yet to be completed, images below include renderings and images of related projects from AKU or the internet.
Surgical waste audit and reduction initiative
Department: Surgery
Theme: Circularity
Country: Pakistan
This surgical waste audit and reduction initiative aims to quantify and characterise the surgical waste stream at AKUH, identifying highest-impact reduction opportunities and pilot context-appropriate reduction protocols, generating open-access knowledge for replication.
Re-usable consumables made in-house with 3-D printed moulds
Department: Centre for Innovation in Medical Education
Theme: Circularity
Country: Kenya
The aim of this project is to reduce single-use waste from simulation training at AKU Nairobi by replacing the highest-volume disposable consumables with durable, locally-fabricated, reusable alternatives by using 3-D printed moulds and bio-derived elastomer, and to generate transferable evidence for doing the same across simulation centres.
Interactive, digital campus tree inventory with QR-coded labels
Department: Pathology
Theme: Biodiversity
Country: Pakistan
Tree inventories will be used to develop climate-smart, interactive, digital campus tree inventory and promote awareness and replication. QR-coded labels on selected trees will link to the database while tree walks and information campaigns will practically engage the campus community.
Smart sustainable Salama House initiative as a model of resource efficiency
Department: Administration
Theme: Multiple
Country: Tanzania
The 'smart sustainable Salama House' initiative is an integrated solution designed to transform the campus into a model of resource efficiency, by reducing energy through IoT applications and fostering environmental stewardship in waste management, composting, and biodiversity.
Solar-powered smart bench as innovative and accessible infrastructure
Department: Institute for Global Health and Development
Theme: Energy & low-carbon
Country: Pakistan
This project seeks to design and install a solar-powered smart bench that combines sustainable energy generation with user comfort, as a visible model of innovative green infrastructure and encourages campus users to fully enjoy and appreciate outdoor space.
Bespoke nitrous cylinder kits and behaviour-change initiative
Department: Anaesthesiology
Theme: Energy & low-carbon
Country: Pakistan
This project will implement an OR-wide environment and behaviour-change initiative to reduce unnecessary nitrous oxide in anaesthesia at AKUH, by upgrading machines with bespoke cylinder connection kits and using regular data in engagement activities to encourage and reduce use.
Green Laboratory Initiative to address high energy, water, and materials use
Department: Pathology
Theme: Energy & low-carbon
Country: Kenya
The Green Laboratory Initiative addresses the high energy, water, and materials use in laboratories by promoting sustainable lab practices and their integration in routine practices. Changes will be monitored and aim to lead to EFLM certification.
Workshop for educators on environmental ethics
Department: Department for Education Development
Theme: Engagement
Country: Pakistan
This project addresses the gap of educators not knowing how to integrate environment into their teaching discipline and practices, by building educators' capacity with a training of trainers approach with focus on environmental ethics integration across disciplines.
Sub-meters for identifying opportunities for energy efficiency in labs
Department: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Theme: Multiple
Country: Pakistan![]()
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The goal of this project is to establish a sustainable data-driven framework for reducing energy consumption in clinical labs – known to be one energy hotspots – by installing sub-meters and ideating with floor teams on interventions, implementation, and tracking.
