10 November 2024
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Medan, Indonesia, 10 November 2024 — Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) continues to deepen its commitment to conscious and sustainable water use through integrated outreach, education, and partnership programmes that reach far beyond the campus. These efforts are carried out under the Green Campus Movement, as mandated by Rector’s Regulation No. 3 of 2019, and are reinforced through faculty circulars that ask academic units to incorporate water conservation education and awareness into teaching and community service activities.
The Community Service Institute (LPPM USU) plays a central role in driving off campus water sustainability initiatives. Through its Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat (community service) programmes, LPPM allocates resources and expert staff to provide training, socialisation, and live demonstrations on topics such as water saving techniques, sanitation, pollution prevention, and sustainable resource use.
These programmes actively involve residents in rural and peri urban communities, helping them to understand and manage local water resources more responsibly and to adopt simple, practical solutions in their daily lives.
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USU integrates water conservation into both formal and informal education channels. Seminars, workshops, and short courses are offered not only for students and staff, but also for school teachers, village communities, and local government stakeholders.
One example of USU’s applied education model is the installation of water saving stickers in restrooms across the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine, and Public Health. This simple campus initiative is used as a real life case study during external outreach and training sessions to show how visual nudges can support long term behavioural change.
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USU also supports research and innovation on water conservation technologies, funding interdisciplinary projects whose results are implemented on campus and shared with the public. During community events, USU often showcases rainwater harvesting systems, sensor based faucets, and greywater reuse models as practical, replicable tools for sustainable living.
These demonstrations highlight how academic research can move beyond theory and become concrete environmental solutions at the community scale.
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To expand its impact, USU collaborates with regional and international partners to exchange knowledge and promote technological innovation. A flagship example is the partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the City Government of Kitakyushu under the Environmental Education for Deli River programme, which introduced a Johkasou wastewater treatment system at the Department of Environmental Engineering.
This collaboration strengthens USU’s capacity in wastewater management and river conservation education, and the lessons learned are shared through community based initiatives across North Sumatra.
By combining policy, education, technology, and international cooperation, Universitas Sumatera Utara continues to connect academic expertise with tangible sustainability outcomes. Through the leadership of LPPM USU and the Green Campus Team, the university not only promotes responsible water use within its own facilities, but also helps to build a wider culture of environmental awareness in society.
These efforts reinforce USU’s contributions to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and show how a university can play a meaningful role in shaping sustainable behaviour well beyond the boundaries of its campus.
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