By Sofia Bassios
In a bustling university town, sustainability on campus is a constant question. From 12 to 16 July, the University of Witswatersrand (Wits) hosted the 13th Green Campus Conference. Stellenbosch University (SU) was named the Greenest Campus. Additionally, they were awarded the Best Eco Transport Award and the Best Institution for Water Saving Award, which recognise the development in student mobility and responsible water management.
Stellenbosch University delegates to the ACUHO-I SAC GCC from left to right: Spurgeon Haddon-Wilson, William Horne, Lwethu Twana, Leigh-Ann Diepennaar, Azola Mrwetyana, Lesedi Monnanyane, Annegrethe Scholtz, Tariro Goremusando, In-Aam Kafaar, and Thulani Hlatswayo. Supplied: Thulani Hlatswayo
The student delegation from SU delivered a presentation centred around three sustainability spheres: The Institution, Residences and the Town, and emphasised how a sustainable campus is the result of continuous, collective effort from organisations in each sphere.
Die Matie spoke to some of the delegates, Lesedi Monnanyane and Annegrethe Scholtz, both MPhil students in Sustainable Development and Management, and Lwethu Twana, an MSc student in Physiological Sciences. They commented on how this conference serves as a marker of progress towards SU’s Vision 2040 smart campus, and a useful check on complacency. Twana said that every institution is working on the same systems: water, energy, transport and student food insecurity.
The Association of College and University Housing Officers-International Southern African Chapter (ACUHO-I SAC) presented the conference. ACUHO-I SAC’s Green Campuses Conference gathers universities and TVETs from South Africa. This year the focus was “Smart Campuses for the Future”.
Tariro Goremusandu, an Listen, Live, and Learn (LLL) participant studying BAHons (International Studies), said what makes “the conference so valuable is that it is not just about showcasing each institution’s successful practices. It is also about exchanging ideas, building relationships and returning to our campuses with new perspectives on how sustainability can be strengthened”.
The delegation stated, “Sustainability is strengthened when it’s shared across residences, faculties, the town of Stellenbosch and the wider network of institutions.” The institutional aspect focuses on evidence-based anticipatory systems: Geographic Information System (GIS) and smart-metering technology that tracks electricity, water and waste in real time, as well as a greywater re-use mode.
The delegation represents Stellenbosch University at the 2026 Green Campus Conference at the University of Witwatersrand. Supplied: Thulani Hlatswayo
Furthermore, SU’s first Net Zero Carbon building, the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) Extension, is the first of its kind in South African universities, and the new HortiDemo centre’s experimental farm facilitates climate-conscious agriculture research.
Initiatives such as StelliesKos’s KosForNothing and Sharebite tackle food insecurity, and each residence has Sustainability and Social Impact committees. In town, Maties bikes, new bike paths and electric scooters reduce dependence on motor vehicles.
Additionally, the CoCreate Hub, Phaphama Sedi, and Launchlab display how small businesses and entrepreneurial independence are strengthened by a circular economy. The overarching theme is that sustainability is not achieved in a silo, but rather lived and strengthened through a multifaceted environment, and those who shape our society.
Scholtz, who is a Commuter Student Community (CSC) student, said, “When we only focus on one of these spheres, we aren’t changing the whole system effectively. The key to cohesion is recognising that we all share common goals, we all want to shape a better future, and we need one another to do that.”
When asked which systems still need improvement before Vision 2040 is reached, Azola Mrwetyana, an on-campus residence BSc student in Biodiversity and Ecology, spoke about waste management systems. The university’s three-bin system is repeatedly underutilised and misunderstood. Students often default to the landfill option or throw half-empty food containers in the recycling bin, contaminating the rest of the recyclables. The rinse tap in the Neelsie is a positive development, but needs to be installed and implemented more frequently.
Goremusandu stated, “When students can see the real impact that other students are having, sustainability feels much more tangible – and it’s easier to believe that your own contribution matters too.”
