Sustainability on Campus

Sustainability at NYUAD is driven by the passionate and visionary people who collectively take action to ensure a greener future.

From collaborating to make NYUAD community more environmentally and socially conscious, to mobilizing students and staff to implement sustainable change, NYU fosters a culture of sustainability that is inclusive and forward-thinking.

Best Practices — Tips for Reducing Waste

Better Buildings

Discover strategies to reduce energy in academic and office buildings

Sustainable Dining

How does NYUAD foster and promote sustainability with regard to campus dining?

NYUAD's Recycling and Waste Programs

Waste minimization through collection services, upstream solutions, and Green programs.

Transportation and Travel

The transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. In NYUAD, the Office of Sustainability will work towards reducing our community's overall transportation footprint through encouraging bicycling among NYUAD community members and reducing NYUAD-sponsored air travel when lower-carbon options are feasible.

NYUAD Biking

Bicycling can be a convenient, healthy, and sustainable way for many people to get around Abu Dhabi and Saadiyat Island. The NYUAD BikeShare program allows you to borrow bikes and explore in a fun, eco-friendly way. Read more on the student portal (login required).

Air Travel

NYUAD faculty and staff considering traveling on University business, should determine first if the benefits of the trip justify the time, expense, and environmental impact. Could teleconferencing meet the same goals? If yes, attend via teleconference. Maybe a local subset of attendees can teleconference together. If not, consider how to avoid future trips by consolidating travel or meetings into one trip.

Green Your Communte by Travelling Less

Reduce travel by prioritizing cost-effective and low-carbon alternatives such as video conferencing or carpooling, and taking the bus.

Plastic Bags

NYUAD has completely phased out plastic bags from campus stores and restaurants. Community members are encouraged to bring reusable bags when shopping.

Bottled Water

Effective February 2017, NYUAD began phasing out the sale of 500 ml water bottles on campus.

In addition, as of March 2020, the water dispensers along with 5 gallon plastic water jugs were removed from campus. NYUAD has since made the decision to continue being a water jug-free university for continued health safety, cost-saving, and accelerating the sustainability efforts on campus.

Water remains available from the sink faucets. The water on campus is safe to drink as it arrives treated by the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC), undergoes a second treatment, and gets tested on a regular basis by the Facilities team. The campus water has been proven safe to be utilized by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture Food Safety Authority as well.

Discover the potable water outlets on campus to reduce your plastic footprint

Five water refilling stations were installed on campus in June 2022. One of these units can be found in the D2 dining area, two in C2 building (one of which is located in the Marketplace), one in A3 building and one in the north site close to the running track.
The atmospheric water generators units are all reconnected while water fountains are already available to use.
Water filters are installed in all kitchen faucets around campus. Every kitchen pantry on campus is equipped with a filter to enhance the quality of tap water. The water from the tap faucet in the pantries is safe to drink and is regularly being tested and proven safe by Abu Dhabi Agriculture Food Safety
Water fountains around campus are available to use.

Printing Mindfulness

On March 14, 2022, a soft printing cap of 1,000 pages per 6 months was introduced for all community members. This is in relation to the printing mindfulness pilot initiative which aims to transform NYUAD into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly campus by managing excess printing through the central management of networked printing devices. The objective is to increase printing mindfulness, thereby reducing the number of pages that are printed on campus every year which will lead to significant environmental benefits.

The print count balance is displayed at the bottom of the printer screen each time you go to print.

The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness around printing and will not limit your ability to print beyond the 1,000 pages allocated. The printing cap will be reset every 6 months during the academic year (September and March). An email is sent when balances reaches 750, 500, 250 and 0.

Connect with the Office of Sustainability in Abu Dhabi

Email us at nyuad.sustainability@nyu.edu.