The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for everyone.
Committed to the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goal, Iqra University is making its mark by embedding SDGs within our governance, teaching, community initiatives, research and partnerships. Following programmes and events are led by IU Faculty, Staff and Students in the area of Goal 12: Responsible Consumption & Production.
Setting the standards for cleaner & responsible University
Pakistan generates approximately 49.6 million tons of solid waste and 4.36 billion cubic metres (BCM) of domestic and industrial wastewater a year, which has been increasing more than 2.4% annually. Only about 60-70% of solid waste and merely 1% of the total wastewater is treated prior to its disposal due to lack of infrastructure and funds. We at Iqra, are working towards this goal by incorporating responsible consumption & waster practices into our curriculum, policies and overall campus culture. We have significant changes in our infrastructure, office practices and teaching methods to reduce waste and encourage recycling.
Community Initiatives for Better Waste Management Practices
As part of our course Ethics & Social Responsibility, we have organised various year long cleaning drives, in collaboration with local district councils, where the students & faculty members regularly visit public & recreational spaces to spent hours picking up debris and waste, sweeping it clean and educate the local masses of conscious purchasing and responsible waste disposal.
Cleaning & Protecting our Seas
In terms of geographical positioning, Pakistan holds one of the important sea-ports & rich marine life, in the world’s economical and political landscape. The sea trade routes are the source of 70% of the economy, however due to depleting resources and poor human development interventions; the pollution and endangerment of marine life and increase in sea wastage have gone unnoticed so far in the country. From 2021, onwards we have begun beach cleaning campaigns, awareness lectures, school awareness sessions and grassroot level projects in collaboration with Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology at University of Karachi and Cantonment Board of Clifton (CBC) led by our students’ societies and prestigious leadership.
Responsible Fashion Practices
Our design students & graduates are not only great designers but also environment conscious humans who understand their responsibility towards creating a sustainable future. Henceforth, we have partnered with leading Textile manufacturers of the country to come up with some creative and culturally appropriate ideas to recycle denim and produce reusable clothings.
Upcycling Pre-Loved Clothes, Toys & Household Items for Needy & Deserving
Our clothes buying practices have tremendously changed in the past decade due to fast fashion, rapidly changing trends and increasing buying power, same goes for Pakistan. Due to no defined mechanism for recycling of clothes, worn out toys & other household items, the majority of such unprocessed items end up in landfills and seas of Karachi. In order to reduce the waste generated by our local hometown, we conduct regular drives for collecting; clothes, slippers, utensils, lifestyle and other household items. These items then are cleaned, checked, segmented and donated in collaboration with our community partners.
