METU has a process for managing carbon and reducing its carbon dioxide emissions.

Process

• Measure: METU monitors energy consumption at campus and building level every year; electricity use has been recorded from 2012 to 2025. In 2025, METU bought 45,440,762 kWh of electricity and used 9,843,856 m³ of natural gas, and its rooftop solar plants generated 1,151,589 kWh (METU YITDB, 2025 Activity Report).

• Manage: under its Energy Management System Policy (16 April 2024) and the ISO 50001 Energy Management System (certified August 2024), METU sets energy targets, assigns responsibilities, reviews performance each year and commits to making use of renewable energy sources.

• METU's Energy Management System has been certified to ISO 50001:2018 since 27 August 2024 by A'ND International Certification Services, a certification body accredited by TÜRKAK (certificate no. T50001/68/2024, valid until 26 August 2027). The certificate covers METU's education and research activities, its scientific, cultural, artistic, and sports events, and the administrative services that support them. In 2025, METU updated its Energy Management System documents, and the certification body carried out the surveillance audit; the certificate remains valid.

https://eyb.metu.edu.tr/tr/galeri/iso-500012018-enerji-yonetim-sistemi-donemsel-ara-denetim-surecleri

• Engage: METU builds staff awareness as part of its energy management. All academic staff were offered the “ISO 50001 Basic Information and Awareness Training” through distance learning, and 1,192 participants successfully completed the training and were awarded certificates.  In 2025, METU also gave 'Energy Efficiency and Saving Awareness Training' to participants in the Workforce Adaptation Programme, which it runs with the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR): 5 previously unemployed people who joined METU from 6 October 2025 to support the cleaning, maintenance, and repair of public areas, with two training days a week in their first four weeks (METU YITDB, 2025 Activity Report).

https://pdb.metu.edu.tr/tr/duyurular/isgucu-uyum-programi-hakkinda-duyuru

• Reduce: METU Strategic Plan 2023–2027, Objective O4.2, commits METU to energy-efficient campuses (Strategy S1) and to reducing private vehicle traffic on campus (Strategy S3); performance indicator PI4.2.5 targets renewable energy used on campus rising from 75 kW at the start of the plan to 1,325 kW in 2025 and 1,825 kW in 2027.

• Plan: METU's Zero Carbon Policy commits the university to minimizing its carbon footprint by 2030 and achieving carbon-free campus life by 2040. On 13 June 2025, METU's Climate Action Plan Co-Design Workshop drafted the actions to reach these goals.

Results

METU reached its previous energy-saving target: a 15% saving in 2019–2023 compared with its reference consumption for 2016–2018, set for public buildings by Presidential Circular No. 2019/18 and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources' Savings Target and Implementation Guide for Public Buildings. The Ministry listed METU among the 'successful' public institutions and awarded it a Certificate of Success in Energy Efficiency in Buildings, signed on 15 August 2024. In 2023, METU also came second in the Second Inter-University Energy Efficiency Competition (ÜNVER-2) for its energy-efficiency applications on campus. Its next target, set by Presidential Circular No. 2023/15, is a 30% energy saving by the end of 2030.

https://haber.metu.edu.tr/tr/2024/09/odtu-enerji-tasarrufunda-hedefine-ulasti/