The new Goa Institute of Management campus

Surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides and a valley on the fourth, Goa Institute of Management (GIM)s new 50-acre campus at Sanquelim in north Goa is located at the foothills of the Western Ghats. In this nature-friendly campus, all hot water is heated using solar heaters and is cleaned in a sewage treatment facility to be sent to a water recovery pond containing special type of plants and fish. All organic garbage and trashed paper is processed in a vermiculture facility that produces compost for using in its widespread landscape.

All the five hostel buildings have solar panels fitted on top, so that we do not need to use electricity to heat water, GIM director Peter FX DLima to PaGaLGuY. LED lamps light up the streets and CFL lamps illuminate the buildings. All the buildings are so arranged that they get sunlight for the maximum possible amount of time as the sun goes from the east to west. There are fish, ducks and birds coming to the water pond, making the campus very ecologically vibrant, he adds.

According to Prof Ajit Parulekar of GIM, being eco-friendly is a choice one makes. “Some think that they need to spend a lot of money to be eco-friendly, but that is not true. Small things can help us save the environment, like a proper garbage disposal system or water-harvesting. When our students see all these things happening in front of them, I am sure they get influenced and inspired to carry that forward even after college. He also informs that apart from a course on Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, students are also taught about carbon trading. This also educates them about what the carbon footprint is, and what they can do to be more eco-friendly, he adds.

Besides, “Such an inspiring and healthy environment keeps your brain fresh, and as we know, a healthy brain always works better, smiles Mr DLima.

In Pune, a little away from the city, on top of the Lavale hills, is the picturesque Symbiosis International University campus housing the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM) and Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC) campuses. Rainwater is harvested at the foot of the hill in a pond, that acts as the source of water for Lavale and nearby areas as well. The campus also boasts of a biogas plant which supplies fuel to cook the food in the mess. The director of SIMC, Chandan Chatterjee stresses that since the students use only bicycles around the campus, the campus stays pollution-free and green.

The institutes’ students also talk happily about all the peacocks and peahens which roam around freely in the protected environment on campus. Sometimes you can spot four to five of them together. This campus is a photographers paradise, smiles Parag Gopale, a final year MBA student of SIMC who is a also a freelance photographer.

Peacocks roaming in the Symbiosis Lavale campus

One sees clusters of bicycles parked at various stands across the campus — vehicles are banned inside.

Two Indian Institutes of Management, at Kozikode and Shillong are also not lagging behind when it comes to building an environmentally conscious campus. IIM Shillong has promoted sustainable energy using solar panels installed on top of the hostels, costing approximately Rs 1.5 crores in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The solar panels together generate 50 kilowatts of energy, says the institute’s public relations officer.

“IIM Shillong conserves energy by using appliances that use minimum energy. The buildings are so constructed, that there is maximum usage of natural light. We also rely on soft copies (PDF, Word and PPT files) to distribute course material to students with the help of a common mail system. Unlike IIM Ahmedabad, which gives material to students on paper, we do not use printed paper,” says Prof HS Chhabra, IIM Shillong’s dean of academics.

Since IIM Shillong is located in a cold region, the institute does not use air conditioners, thus needing mush lesser energy that the other IIMs. Not requiring air conditioners also helps in reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere.

On the other hand, IIM Kozhikode practically runs on rainwater. The 96-acre campus that occupies two steep hillocks has taken rainwater harvesting very seriously. It catches rain from at least two-thirds of its campus land and unlike many other institutions in Kerala which despite having big land holdings and 300 plus mm of rain have to depend on external water supply, IIM Kozhikode is self sufficient.

Rohan Kumar, a second year student says, “Our institute meets its requirement of water through its rainwater harvesting ponds and doesn’t have any external water supply. Despite being located in the hills, cutting of slopes for construction purposes has also been minimized. We also have environmental management as a part of our curriculum.”

A filtering plant and pump house also exist at the foot of the hill, whereas all the buildings in the campus are fitted with built-in cement gutters. The downward pipes have a box-like cement structures in between which trap tree leaves that might travel along with the run-off from the roof.

The IIM Kozhikode campus

There is a large lake at the bottom of the IIM-K hills that holds all the water that runs down the two hills.

“As you enter the campus, on the right-hand side is a very pretty looking reservoir. But it is more than just mere beauty. It’s because of the reservoir the campus is self sufficient with its water needs. We are also trying to incorporate a new course on renewable energy. Hopefully, it would be ready soon,” says Prof Mahesh Bhave of IIM-K.