Evaluation of University Students’ Perspectives on the Relationship Between Sustainability and Energy

Abstract

Narrowing the gap between energy demand and supply, while improving the efficiency of energy consumption, has become one of the central sustainability challenges addressed in global policy agendas. Implementing energy management systems in public institutions and organizations is important for achieving this balance. University campuses can be considered small cities, as they serve as living spaces for students. Therefore, since establishing an energy management system is a long-term process, its timely implementation and the creation of an effective system can only be achieved if the students actively using the campus understand and take ownership of the concept. This study explores the role of students as active participants in campus energy management, with a particular focus on integrating the ISO 50001 Energy Management System into higher education environments. A mixed-methods approach was used at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University’s (AYBU) Etlik Campus, combining longitudinal building energy consumption data (2019-2023) with a face-to-face survey of 201 students from nine departments within the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences. The survey assessed students’ knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to participate in energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. The findings suggest that while students are generally aware of sustainability concepts, their technical familiarity with standards such as ISO 50001 and units such as ton of oil equivalent (TOE) remains limited. Notably, Energy Systems Engineering (ESE) students tended to report higher awareness and stronger support for forming volunteer, student-led energy management units. Based on the findings, student-led energy management units may serve as a participatory mechanism to improve energy-data transparency, strengthen operational energy literacy, and support sustainability-oriented campus practices. This approach offers a repeatable framework for higher education institutions seeking to align operational energy performance with student-led sustainability actions.

Keywords

Energy Management System (EnMS) / ISO 50001 / Energy performance / Energy consumption / Energy efficiency / Energy policy / Energy target / Significant Energy Uses (SEU) / Energy Performance Indicator (EnPI) / Continuous improvement

Statement of the Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process

ChatGPT (OpenAI) was used only to assist in generating the graphical visualization. The authors reviewed and verified the final figure and take full responsibility for its accuracy.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Facility Management Unit of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University for providing the building energy consumption records. The authors also thank the students who voluntarily participated in the survey.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Ö.Ö.E. and B.Y.; Methodology, İ.S.U. and Ö.Ö.E.; Software, İ.S.U.; Validation, Ö.Ö.E. and B.Y.; Formal Analysis, İ.S.U. and Ö.Ö.E.; Investigation, İ.S.U.; Resources, Ö.Ö.E. and B.Y.; Data Curation, İ.S.U. and Ö.Ö.E.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, İ.S.U. and Ö.Ö.E.; Writing—Review & Editing, Ö.Ö.E. and B.Y.; Visualization, İ.S.U. and Ö.Ö.E.; Supervision, B.Y. and Ö.Ö.E.; Project Administration, B.Y.; Funding Acquisition, İ.S.U. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Ethics Statement

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Science and Engineering Sciences Ethics Committee (decision no. 04/14, approval date: 25 October 2024; document no. E-84892257-300-333275).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all participants before completing the survey.

Data Availability Statement

All aggregated data supporting the findings of this study are included in the article. Additional anonymized survey data and processed building energy-consumption records can be made available by the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to institutional permission and ethical considerations.

Funding

The first author (İ.S.U.) received Tübitak Bideb BSc Student Graduation Project support (under contract number of 1919B012324771) for this work.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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