Sustainability Facts and Figures
- In 2025, The American University in Cairo (AUC) published the 8th edition of the biennial Carbon Footprint Report, a key publication that tracks and analyzes the University’s greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon footprint report measures the total greenhouse gas emissions resulting from university operations and helps identify priority areas for emissions reductions.
- AUC incentivizes carpooling to campus by allowing carpoolers to park for free, as stated within the University’s parking policy. As of September 2023, designated parking spots for members of the community who carpool to campus were introduced on campus. Carpoolers may park in specially reserved slots at Parking Lot G near Gate 5 and Omar Mohsen Gate. Check AUC's statement on reserved carpool parking.
- In 2022, AUC became a signatory to the global UN-backed Race to Zero Campaign for Universities and Colleges. The Race to Zero initiative was launched by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2019. By joining the Race to Zero initiative as a signatory, AUC has an interim goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 2035 and reaching a nearly zero-emission campus as its ultimate goal in 2050.
- For the sixth year, AUC was named in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges with a green rating of 98/99 in 2022. AUC joined a school in Canada, Ecuador and Greece as non-U.S.-based colleges in the Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges.
- #1 Most Sustainable University in Africa and Egypt for two years in a row, according to the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking 2022.
- In 2021, 168 MT CO2e of carbon were sequestered from landscaping and composting.
- Throughout 2020-2021, there was a 45% reduction in the University’s carbon footprint during the COVID-19 pandemic. This reduction is based on the difference between 2019 (normal operations, a pre-COVID year) and 2021 (disturbed operations amidst the COVID year).
- In 2016, AUC declared its commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a strategic policy initiative for organizations working in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
- The Sustainability Measures and Policies section was first included in The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Accreditation for the University in 2016.
- The sustainable campus practices at AUC were featured in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Green Universities Toolkit in 2015 as a global example of a green, low-carbon institution.
- In 2012, AUC became the first University in the MENA region to produce a carbon footprint report.
- In 2011, the Office of Sustainability was established.
- AUC became a member of The Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in 2011.
- The American University in Cairo joins six global sustainability initiative memberships, namely:
- The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges
- The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
- The University of Indonesia (UI) GreenMetric World University Ranking
- The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- The United Nations (UN) Global Compact
- The Race to Zero for Universities & Colleges
- Eduniversal listed the MSc. in Sustainable Development program (SSDV) as the top master’s program in Africa focusing on sustainability and green technologies.
- Almost 100% of campus landscape irrigation uses treated wastewater. Thus, AUC meets nearly 50% of its total water needs with treated wastewater, which is only used in irrigating the campus landscape.