Clubs

ESPOL's student clubs promote concepts related to Sustainable Development, which are applicable to our polytechnic community and external public. From the organization of webinars to the development of an agricultural monitoring system are the projects developed by students in the quest to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Ecofest 2021

Ecofest is an event created by the ESPOL Sustainability Program to create a space for clubs to demonstrate their work towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ESPOL Sustainability Program worked with the clubs during the year 2021 where they participated with projects related to different SDGs. This type of event demonstrates the work of our students and above all of the clubs, who continue their work for the SDGs with extracurricular activities.

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Sustainability Awareness Talks to the Polytechnic Community

In cooperation with the Administrative Management, during 2021 we developed an awareness campaign on practical application issues, with 237 participants from our community. Also, 98 members of the guards, coordinators and security supervisors were included with the theme "Conservation of the Prosperina Protected Forest and Sustainability".

Learn about the best practices that are applied on our campus in order to make our operations sustainable:

TRANSPORT

BICIESPOL

BICIESPOL is an eco-friendly transportation project on campus, inaugurated in February 2016. This initiative has 139 bicycles with two parking stations, with capacity for 162 units, andeach- with a 2 km route.
In 2018, 40,230 bicycle loans were made, equivalent to 80,640 km traveled. Considering that for every kilometer traveled by bicycle 0.021 kg of CO2 are emitted, in that year 1,693.44 kg of CO2 were emitted compared to 20,885.76 kg of CO2 if the same trip had been made by car.
In 2019, 43,715 bicycle loans were made, making the same calculation, in 87,430 km traveled, 1,836.03 kg of CO2 were emitted compared to 22,644.37 kg of CO2 if the same trip had been made by car.

More information: http://www.bienestar.espol.edu.ec/BICIESPOL

ENERGY

ENERGY CONSERVATION

The Sustainability Program conducted the measurement of Greenhouse Gas emissions from the operations of the Gustavo Galindo Velasco campus, through the calculation of the Carbon Footprint and it was determined that the most significant contribution corresponds to Electricity with about 66% in 2017, due to the use of air conditioning equipment due to the climate of Guayaquil.
This study is the basis for generating energy efficiency actions for climate change mitigation.

ENERGY MODELING OF BUILDINGS

The Center for Renewable and Alternative Energies, CERA-ESPOL, developed in 2018 an energy modeling study of the main campus buildings, to evaluate energy consumption, through the use of simulation tools.
For this purpose, geometric models of the buildings were developed based on architectural plans. In addition, information was gathered on the internal loads of the buildings in terms of lighting, electrical equipment, air conditioning equipment, number of occupants and envelope materials.

Read the scientific article: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8976931

Based on these results, an energy efficiency policy is being developed to ensure that energy efficiency standards are applied in the remodeling and construction of new buildings to reduce energy consumption.

REPLACEMENT OF CONVENTIONAL LUMINAIRES WITH LEDS

In recent years, conventional luminaires have been replaced by more efficient luminaires such as LEDs. In 2018, 1,650 lights were purchased for the campus.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES ON CAMPUS

Since 2019, a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 50 kW has been installed in the Rectorate building, which covers the demand for four central air conditioning units.

The photovoltaic power plant helps educate the community on the use of renewable, clean and environmentally friendly energy. These facilities function as a living laboratory for handson learning for students of various subjects taught at ESPOL.
Additionally, there are other projects on campus, such as the Bosque Protector La Prosperina, with four stations with a capacity of 50 Wh each to provide energy to the audio and video equipment that collects information on the flora and fauna of the forest.

WATER

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

En 1984 se realizó el estudio y diseño del lago 1, en un sector que originalmente era una quebrada, asimismo se crearon en el campus algunas albarradas y posteriormente el lago PARCON. Estos cuerpos de agua artificiales han llegado a convertirse en sistemas ecológicos vecinos del Bosque Protector La Prosperina, ubicado también en el campus.
Además de sus funciones en la preservación y conservación de especies, en el lago 1 se desarrollan actividades deportivas como kayak y de recreación. El lago 1 tiene una extensión de 6.55 ha y capacidad aproximada de 500.000 m3, que es recolectada del agua lluvia y de escorrentías en la época invernal, la cual se utiliza para el riego de áreas verdes del campus durante el resto del año.

Existe un sistema de bombeo junto al lago y un sistema de riego instalado en varias facultades del núcleo de ingenierías. También se utiliza un tanquerito para realizar el riego manualmente en una sección del parterre central de la vía principal del campus.
Se estima que durante el 2019 se utilizaron 40.844 m3 de agua del lago 1 para riego de áreas verdes. 
 

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

There are three wastewater treatment systems at the Gustavo Galindo Velasco campus:

• Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant by "Total Oxidation" located in PARCON.
• Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) Wastewater Treatment Plant located next to the Admissions building.
• Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Wastewater Treatment Plant located in the Engineering Center.

These plants were conceived so that the treated water is reused for irrigation of the surrounding green areas. The treated water from the engineering core is used to irrigate the soccer field next to the WWTP.

Another water conservation program that is being progressively implemented is the replacement of faucets with water-saving devices such as automatic shut-off faucets and dualflush toilets.

WATER TROUGHS

Water troughs are installed throughout the campus so that the ESPOL community can drink fresh water. Through them we seek to encourage the use of reusable containers and avoid single-use plastics. In 2019, the disposal of 414,819 plastic bottles was avoided.

WASTE

Characterization:

To estimate the amount of waste generated on campus, students of the subject Introduction to Environmental Management, carried out the characterization and volume of common waste, through practices.