Vadodara: Gujarat 's youngest state university — the Shri Govind Guru University ( SGGU ) — has become the first out of 105 university campuses in the state to get a green building tag. SGGU, which operates from the tribal-dominated Panchmahals district, has been conferred with a green building certification by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), India's premier certification body. After the collectorate office in Vyara, which was constructed around 12 years ago, SGGU is the second green building constructed by the R&B department that has earned the green tag.
The university now has the distinction of being the first zero-emission, zero-discharge, and water-positive campus in the state, apart from being a plastic-free zone. "We are proud that out of all the public, private, or deemed universities in Gujarat, we are the first to have received the green certification," said SGGU's vice-chancellor Pratapsinh Chauhan, who was handed over the green certificate by Godhra collector Ashish Kumar on Sep 5. He said that although the university received the green certificate now, it had started taking green steps in 2021.
"SGGU campus is not only the first zero-emission campus in Gujarat but probably the first under ISO 14064 considering scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3," said Vadodara-based N K Ojha, technical advisor and green building consultant, who facilitated green building certification for the project. "With an artificial lake and a Miyawaki forest, it has turned into a w.