Invest in cleaner energy on our campuses

AKU will meet its sustainable energy goal through available and emerging technology options.

Energy use forms the largest source of emissions for AKU across all its campuses: grid electricity accounts for just over 20 percent and generator fuels and gas nearly 50 percent of AKU's operational emissions.

Measuring progress

The greenhouse gas emissions accounting forms the baseline against which to measure progress, while cost accounitng provides a parallel assessment of effectiveness of renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy

AKU seeks to power a significant portion of its energy needs through renewable energy sources, including solar photovoltaic, solar water heating, and biomass.

The Aga Khan University Hospitals in both Karachi and Nairobi have installed renewable energy. 550 kWp of solar PV was installed at Stadium Road campus in Karachi in February 2022 followed by 100 kW in Nairobi campus in November 2022. This will be significantly scaled and expanded to other AKU facilities in the coming months.​

In Nairobi, a biomass boiler was commissioned in August 2023 to drastically reduce the amount of diesel used to provide heat and steam for the hospital.

Next steps

Detailed assessments have been carried out to identify solar photovoltaic opportunities across most campuses and facilities of AKU. This has identified that in most cases, at least 50% of purchased grid electricity can be supplied through renewable electricity generation with solar PV on our own campuses.

A solar water heater will be installed at the AKU-run FMIC in Kabul in late 2023. This will displace a huge amount of diesel needed to provide hot water, especially during the winter months.​