With a rich history dating back to 1918, Stellenbosch University (SU) has grown into one of South Africa’s most respected institutions. It is a place where tradition meets innovation, and academic excellence drives progress across Africa and beyond. The University, through its Environmental Sustainable Plan, is committed to climate action in line with the Paris Agreement and with an ambitious goal of achieving Net Zero (NZ) carbon emissions by 2050. As SU’s partner on their journey to Net Zero, Ecolution Consulting has developed a roadmap to support the University in scaling up its energy efficiency efforts (EE) and embedded renewable energy (RE) programme, focusing on buildings across all its campuses. The roadmap outlines interventions prioritised based on their potential for energy savings or renewable energy generation, cost-effectiveness, and ease of implementation.

Energy assessments conducted on a sample of the University’s buildings, informed this roadmap. We selected a sample from the buildings captured in the University’s Geographical Information System (GIS) inventory, in consultation with SU, to provide a representative view of the portfolio and/or identify areas with greater opportunity due to significant energy use. Findings from the site assessments, extensive engagements with SU staff and the review of sub-metering assessment reports informed a list of recommended energy-saving interventions. We’ve shortlisted the most impactful and cost-effective recommendations, assessing them in greater detail to quantify their potential energy savings and implementation costs. These findings were then extrapolated across the University’s portfolio using available data and collated into a phased implementation plan.