METU has an energy-efficiency plan to reduce its overall energy consumption.

Targets

• METU's Climate Action and Sustainability Plan sets a target of reducing campus energy demand and consumption by 30% by 2030. This matches the national target that Presidential Circular No. 2023/15 sets for public institutions that reached their previous target, as METU did: a 30% energy saving by the end of 2030.

• METU's Zero Carbon Policy commits the university to setting targets and strategies for reducing energy consumption and to install energy measurement systems, efficient lighting, thermal insulation and smart heating and lighting.

http://sustainablecampus.metu.edu.tr/en/policies

Plan

The ISO 50001 Energy Management System (certified August 2024) turns these targets into an annual energy plan with significant energy uses, performance indicators and action plans.

Energy-saving work carried out in 2025 included (METU YITDB, 2025 Activity Report):

• Renewable electricity: operating and maintaining the 810 kWe rooftop solar power plants on the İsa Demiray, Faika Demiray and Refika Aksoy dormitories, which generated 1,151,589 kWh in 2025.
• Electrical efficiency: renewing the reactive-power compensation system at the A1 gate medium-voltage substation and replacing 240 street-light fittings.
• Heating and building services: renovating the mechanical installations serving staff housing, completing the automation and natural-gas infrastructure renovation in the Department of Chemistry, and adding solar shading to the DEKOSİM building.

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.

METU's Energy Management System Handbook (document EnYS-EK-01, published 16 April 2024) sets out how targets are set: at the end of each year, improvement opportunities for significant energy uses are presented to top management, which sets the energy objectives and targets for the next year, taking into account energy reviews, legal requirements, energy audits, technical options and financial conditions. Action plans are prepared under the Energy Management Unit, and progress is reviewed at the annual management review. The system follows Türkiye's Circular on Energy Saving in Public Buildings, the Energy Efficiency 2030 Strategy and the Second National Energy Efficiency Action Plan.

METU Energy Management System Policy (document EnYS-PL-01, published 16 April 2024, METU Energy Management Unit): 'Taking into account the effects of all our operational decisions on the Energy Management System, we identify the process risks and significant energy uses that are a natural part of our activities and commit to introducing planned actions to minimize and control their impacts.'

https://eyb.metu.edu.tr/tr/enerji-yonetim-sistemi-politikasi

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.

Progress

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.

In 2025, METU bought 45,440,762 kWh of electricity and used 9,843,856 m³ of natural gas to heat 608,773 m² of indoor space, while its rooftop solar plants generated a further 1,151,589 kWh.