Climate Action Plan, shared | University of Cape Town

Although UCT does not publish a single, labelled “Climate Action Plan” document, in 2024 the university deployed a publicly-available, multi-document climate action architecture that together functions as its Climate Action Plan. Key elements include: the UCT Carbon Footprint Assessment (2022) and public Net-Zero target (2050) reported under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol; the Environmental Sustainability Strategy (roadmap to net-zero carbon, water and waste-to-landfill by 2050); operational mitigation actions (Energy Performance Certificates for large buildings completed in 2022 and rooftop PV procurement and installations in 2022–2024); adaptation and resilience programmes (Khusela Ikamva water-sensitive campus living lab and CSAG/ACDI capacity building and synthesis centre activities in 2024); and circular-economy waste projects (waste-to-energy pilot, Oct 10, 2024). Together these published plans and project reports, which are shared widely, including with local government and local community groups via UCT’s website, provide the inventory, targets, mitigation/adaptation measures, and monitoring that constitute a comprehensive institutional climate action response.

1. Environmental Sustainability Strategy - UCT’s overall roadmap (published/discussed in 2022–2024; referenced in UCT news Sept 27, 2024)

UCT’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy is the university’s roadmap towards becoming a net-zero carbon, water, and waste-to-landfill campus by, or before, 2050. The strategy sets long-term net-zero goals and identifies priority areas: energy/carbon, water, waste, human health & well-being, and “campus as a living lab”.
This is the institutional umbrella strategy that frames UCT’s net-zero ambitions and links the component plans below.

2. Carbon footprint inventories & Net-Zero target (Carbon Footprint Assessment Report, 2024)

UCT commissioned a Carbon Footprint Assessment (2024) that reports in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and states an institutional target: Net Zero (Scope 1 & 2) by 2050. The inventory includes Scope 1, 2 and an expanded Scope-3 boundary (2022).

The inventory gives an auditable measurement base and an explicit Net-Zero date (2050) for Scopes 1 & 2 — a key element of any Climate Action Plan.

3. Energy / Buildings measures & EPCs (2022–2024) - energy performance and rooftop PV rollout

UCT completed Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for all buildings >2,000 m² in 2022 and documented solar PV demonstration installations and procurement plans (small PV installs completed in 2022; procurement process for 500 kWp across multiple roofs launched).

Built-environment measures (EPCs, PV rollout) are primary mitigation levers to reduce Scope-1/2 emissions; EPC completion is tangible evidence of operational planning and implementation.

4. Sustainable Water Management & ‘Khusela Ikamva’ (water-sensitive campus living-lab) - practical resilience & adaptation

(Khusela Ikamva reporting 2023–2024)

The Khusela Ikamva project — a Future Water / campus living-lab initiative — documents retrofit work, greywater/reuse planning and water-sensitive campus trials; there was marked progress in Nov 2023 and continuing implementation into 2024 (and the DHET-funded water management strategy and approvals for a central sewage recycling plant). These actions form UCT’s water-resilience pillar.

Water resilience is integral to climate adaptation; these operational projects are the university’s adaptation/early-warning & resilience components.

5. Waste & circular economy projects (2024) - waste-to-energy / food-waste circular projects

UCT reported on a sustainability project converting food waste to energy and bio-products, described as a campus-wide integrated sustainable food waste management system aligned to circular design thinking and climate mitigation/adaptation benefits.
Reducing landfill and capturing energy from waste reduces emissions (Scope-3 and operational) and is part of a full climate action architecture.

6. Research & capacity building (CSAG, ACDI) - climate risk training and policy engagement (2024)

CSAG ran the Short Course on Navigating Climate Risk (applications opened 25 Mar 2024) and the CSAG-CONFER Climate Risk Training School (2–6 Sept 2024) aimed at government and practitioner audiences; the African Climate & Development Initiative (ACDI) hosted the first African Climate Change Synthesis Centre in April 2024 — all showing UCT’s role in building adaptation, early-warning and policy capacity.

Climate action requires both mitigation and adaptation capacity; these programmes show UCT supplies the knowledge-to-action links to municipalities and regions.

7. Student & community programmes (Green Campus Initiative; Knowledge Co-op; Summer School NGO showcases) - behaviour change & community education (2024)

Student-led Green Campus Initiative outreach, UCT’s Knowledge Co-op (community-university matching), and the 17 Jan 2024 Summer School NGO exhibition demonstrate education, behaviour change and NGO collaboration that support campus and community climate resilience.
Behaviour change and community outreach are critical to achieving emissions and resilience goals; these activities form part of the holistic plan.

How these component plans together form a Climate Action Plan

Measurement & target: the Carbon Footprint Assessment (2022) establishes the baseline, methodology (GHG Protocol) and an institutional Net-Zero target (2050 for Scopes 1 & 2).
Operational mitigation: EPCs, PV procurement and planned infrastructure work (rooftop PV, energy efficiency programmes) provide concrete mitigation measures and timelines.
Adaptation & resilience: Khusela Ikamva / Future Water and CSAG/ACDI capacity building target water security, early warning and adaptation planning — the adaptation half of climate action.
Circular economy & waste: Waste-to-energy and waste-management projects address emissions from waste and contribute to resource efficiency.
Community & education: Student & community programmes and short courses connect UCT’s technical actions to behaviour change, government actors and NGOs, enabling implementation and social buy-in.

Taken together, these published strategies, inventories and project reports provide the constituent elements normally expected in a Climate Action Plan: baseline (inventory), target (net-zero date), mitigation measures (energy/buildings, procurement), adaptation measures (water, resilience), monitoring & reporting, and stakeholder engagement.