Green Campus

We treasure our greenery, actively preserve it and continue to grow it. Almost half of our 34-hectare has been greened up. As of 2020, we have planted more than 1,000 trees and introduced over 100 tree species. NP is also home to multiple gardens including a butterfly garden and two eco ponds.

Besides having naturally ventilated spaces for our study areas, we converted our hardscapes into softscapes and covered our campus walls with vertical greens which act as natural rain covers.

We have made huge strides in reducing our water and electricity usage. From 2013 to 2020, this usage was reduced by almost 40 per cent, which was over and above our original goal of 25 per cent.

NP is the first polytechnic to take part in the SolarNova programme led by the Economic Development Board and Housing & Development Board to install solar panels to generate renewable or clean energy.

We now have 4,000 solar panels on the rooftops of one third - or 15 - of our buildings. The panels convert 8 per cent of NP’s energy consumption into renewable energy and in the first two months of operating, reduced our carbon footprint by an equivalent of planting 30,000 trees.

NP’s state-of-the-art Integrated Operations Centre tracks our energy and water usage real-time. The campus deploys many other solutions including a smart lighting system that allows staff to remotely control their lights, and by end 2023, we will adopt solar street lighting.

Our journey in sustainable practices began as early as 2013 and we have gone from stopping the use of styrofoam and straws to replacing plastic cups with paper cups. With the help of digitalisation, our paper usage plunged by almost 40% from 2018 to 2020. Food waste from all our canteens is sent to a PUB treatment facility to be converted into energy.

NP’s School of Engineering works with industry partners on projects such as self-driving autonomous vehicles while the Environmental & Water Technology Centre of Innovation and Solar Technology Centre conduct cutting-edge research in green technologies.

Our green spaces such as the rain garden at Block 51 and the floating wetland in the pond at Block 56, serve as outdoor classrooms for our students. We run several environment-related diplomas including the Diploma in Landscape Design & Horticulture and the Diploma in Environmental & Water Technology.

Over the years, we have produced students who have gone on to win environmental awards such as the EcoFriend Awards and HSBC-NYAA Youth Environmental Awards.

We have several environmental clubs which see students contributing to the community by embarking on curriculum-based and volunteer projects across Singapore throughout the year.