Climate Action

USM has a university Climate Action Plan, the USM Low Carbon Campus Blueprint Implementation Document, prepared by the Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS). The plan is a strategic framework for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the university and the wider climatic impacts of its operations. It is organised around four elements, Energy, Mobility, Waste and Water, and covers six domains: Students, Academics, Research, Community and Industry, Institution, and Environment.

The plan was developed in five steps: appointment of committee members, an action plan outline that sets Sustainable Development Goals priorities, focus group discussions by domain, a final action plan with narratives, and integrated action plans. In the focus group step, relevant stakeholders, namely local government and local community groups, within and outside USM, were engaged in reviewing the current sustainability status.

Targets of the plan

Partners and stakeholders named in the plan

The plan assigns roles to internal units, including the Development and Asset Management Department (JPPA), Kampus Sejahtera, CETREE and CGSS, and to 21 external partners. Government agencies named in the plan include JPS Malaysia, which collaborates on the BIOECODS projects and the National Conference on Stormwater Management; JKR Malaysia, a collaboration partner in a research project; the National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), which collaborates on research on constructed wetlands as a sewerage system alternative and an atmospheric water generator; and the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA), which collaborates on an energy efficiency competition. Community groups named in the plan include Water Watch Penang, which collaborates on the World Water Day Exhibition to promote water management awareness to the community; the Penang Green Council, which collaborates on a zero waste project; and the Tzu Chi Society, which collaborates on recycling projects.

The plan is published in full below, so local government agencies, local community groups and the public can read it.

USM is committed to achieving its 2050 carbon-neutral target, in line with Malaysia's commitment. The USM Low Carbon Campus Blueprint Implementation Document sets out targets and actions for reducing energy consumption, motor vehicle use, waste and water use with targets set for 2022, 2025 and 2030.

USM measures its greenhouse gas emissions through an annual Carbon Footprint report. The 2025 report covers the Main Campus and reports emissions from electricity, water, waste and mobility across Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 (partial) of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, with 2019 as the baseline year. Scope 1 covers direct emissions, Scope 2 covers emissions from purchased electricity, and Scope 3 covers selected indirect emissions.

The electricity footprint of the Main Campus fell by 46.22% between 2019 and 2025. The report also records increases in water and waste emissions, which USM tracks year by year to direct its reduction actions.

USM measures the amount of low-carbon energy used across the whole university. In 2025, electricity use was recorded for every USM campus: the Main Campus, the Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Cancer Centre USM, the Kelantan Campus, the Kelantan Campus – HUSM and the Engineering Campus. Low-carbon energy is measured across all campuses. Solar electricity is generated at the Main Campus (3,612,693 kWh) and the Engineering Campus (5,517,209 kWh), and the other campuses do not yet have solar installations, so they recorded no solar generation in 2025.

At the Engineering Campus, solar generation equals 36.5% of the campus total of 15,135,776 kWh, and at the Main Campus it equals 14.5% of the campus total of 24,888,643 kWh.