Universities, especially those with campuses nested in highly urban environments, such as the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), have unique constraints and variables when aiming for net-zero carbon emissions for their respective campus building infrastructure. Each university has also been seeking to develop its own frameworks for campus sustainability improvements. 

TUB and RMIT, as partners within The ‘World cities, World class (WC2)’ university collaboration partnership has been cooperating since 2016 to bring ‘eco-campus’ expertise to international collaborations of academics and students in various locations around the world. This research aims to strengthen our research collaboration (outcome 2) in achieving net-zero outcomes for our respective campuses. This DAAD/UA grant will enable the sharing of expertise directly through mutual exchange to enable better sustainable outcomes for existing and new development and retrofit projects of academic buildings on both campuses. It will enable junior scientists (outcome 1) to work on innovative models to ensure the sustainability targets of each university.