Towards a Sustainable Campus: The UI GreenMetric Model for the Assessment and Evaluation of the University of Béjaïa (Algeria)

It is widely acknowledged that universities play a pivotal role in promoting sustainability by encouraging education for durable advancement, carrying out research, and overseeing sustainable campus operations. The present research primarily aims to evaluate the sustainability level of the University of Béjaïa (Algeria) using the international UI GreenMetric model, which is considered the main global framework for assessing the sustainability of a campus. The present work principally intends to assess the environmental and institutional performance of the university, according to international standards, and to propose a methodological framework that is adapted to the Algerian context. To achieve this goal, it was deemed appropriate to apply a mixed-methods approach that combines surveys, field observations, and document analysis through six categories of indicators, namely infrastructure, energy and climate, waste management, water management, transportation, and education and research. The results obtained explicitly indicate that the University of Béjaïa is still in an early phase of transition towards sustainability. This phase is characterized by strong ecological potential but with rather limited systems of governance, energy efficiency, and mobility. Therefore, the study proposes a national model, called AlgéMetric, inspired by the GreenMetric model and the contextualized sustainability assessment tools (SATs) that were developed, in order to address the aforementioned challenges. This hybrid tool includes new indicators that reflect the climatic, institutional, and cultural specificities in Algeria. This research proposes the first systematic application of the UI GreenMetric framework in Algeria. It also contributes to establishing a national network of sustainable campuses aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP 2016–2030).