The Green University Campus Diagnosis Model

Abstract

Planning for sustainable strategies and implementing sustainable practices in a university campus requires the assessment of a green level. Following a comprehensive research, it is observed that existing models are complex, are mathematically ambiguous, use an extreme amount of criteria and are applied in developed countries solely. The purpose of this paper is to propose a generic model that diagnoses the level of sustainable practices of green university campuses. The developed model, entitled the “Green University Campus Diagnosis” (GUCD) model, provides a green level of a university campus. Green indicators for university campus are defined, and criteria weights are evaluated using Shannon’s entropy method. Then, a modified version of Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) ranks a green university campus between a “very bad” and an “excellent” green university campus. Data are collected from universities’ managers, directors and engineers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The model is applied to four Lebanese universities. Results show that university campuses have a green level between 56.55 and 74.8%. The GUCD is a generic, simple-to-use model. The GUCD model uses well-defined mathematical Multi-Criteria Decision methodologies and an adequate number of green indicators.