In early 2022, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) made an ambitious announcement: to achieve net zero operations by 2030. This was ambitious for two reasons. One, the areas AKDN operates in are mostly developing countries which generally lack resources and technical expertise and going net zero requires significant amounts of both. Second, the timeframe gives it only eight years to accomplish this huge goal in all its agencies spread across four continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
To materialize this commitment, the Aga Khan University set to work on developing a roadmap to go net zero. AKU has a dedicated Office of Environment and Sustainability which coordinates with different departments across all geographies to collect greenhouse gas emissions data. Following data collection, the Office identified and analysed emission hot spots, cost, and viable alternatives. This was then collated into a comprehensive Environment and Decarbonization Plan.
The plan is crucial to address the climate crisis by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. Healthcare emissions amount to more than five percent of all global emissions which means it becomes a moral imperative for us to reduce our footprint and adapt to the already prevalent climate impacts.
The plan puts forward 100 measures that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with science and improve environmental aspects. Each measure was diligently costed for investment needs as well as monetary and emissions savings over time. It is expected that it will take on average four years for the identified measures to pay back their investment.
The measures in the plan are grouped in four categories: renewable energy (solar photovoltaic, solar water heating, biomass); energy efficiency (replacing high energy products with lower energy ones); practice changes (especially in anaesthesia, management of water, waste, and fleet); and decarbonizing buildings and processes (for example insulation, window film).
The net zero target includes the operational emissions which we can directly control. This excludes the supply chain emissions. However, in this plan, AKU sets engagement targets to reduce emissions arising in the supply chain by initiating dialogues with our 5000+ suppliers and re-evaluating our own demand and use of products. The plan goes further to suggest a few environmental measures such as reducing water consumption and improving waste management, as well as a stock take of climate-relevant academic work.
Reducing emissions in line with science is good for business and benefits the wider society in terms of reduced emissions and improved health outcomes and climate resilience. Implementing the plan will bring AKU well on the way to fulfilling the goal of net zero operations by 2030.
For more information, please feel free to email us: environment@aku.edu
