In Delhi University’s North Campus, some colleges are more than classrooms — they are living, breathing worlds. Spread across leafy avenues and historic buildings, DU campuses shape how students think, move, and grow. Some colleges speak about sustainability in classrooms. At Miranda House, it shows up in how the campus runs every day.
Miranda House is one such campus. It does not treat sustainability as a chapter to be taught but as a way of life — quietly embedded in how the campus functions every single day.
Tucked away behind its iconic red-brick façade, Miranda House doesn’t announce its green credentials loudly. Instead, it lets students discover them — in the way sunlight fills classrooms, waste quietly turns into compost, and rainwater finds its way back into the ground.
A campus that feels alive the moment you enter
Step through the gates of Miranda House, and the shift is immediate. The noise of the city fades into shaded walkways, wide lawns, and trees that feel older than the college itself. The architecture, with its high ceilings, thick walls, and long verandas, feels almost instinctively climate-smart.
Students and faculty at Miranda House come together, reflecting how sustainability on campus grows through shared, everyday action. Photograph: (Miranda House)
Classrooms are flooded with natural light and ventilation, reducing dependence on artificial lighting and cooling for much of the day.
This design choice, intentional or inherited, sets the tone: the campus works with nature, not against it. And over the years, Miranda House has layered modern sustainability practices onto this foundation, turning everyday campus life into a quiet environmental lesson.
Powered by the sun: When clean energy becomes campus routine
At Miranda House, sustainability carries on beyond building design and into daily routines. Solar power supports several campus operations, making clean energy a familiar part of student life rather than a distant concept. Over time, these systems have blended into how the campus functions, shaping everyday experiences in ways students often notice only when they pause to look around.
At the heart of this effort is a 7 kWp grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic plant, which supplies power directly to the college’s waste management and recycling units. In other words, the systems that compost waste and recycle paper are quite literally powered by the sun, reinforcing the idea that sustainability here is circular, intentional, and interconnected.
Students at Miranda House take part in on-campus waste segregation and composting, turning everyday discards into nourishment for the campus gardens. Photograph: (Miranda House)
Step outside after dusk, and the commitment is just as evident. Forty solar streetlights line the campus pathways, illuminating walkways using stored solar energy. These lights reduce dependence on the conventional power grid while keeping the campus safe and accessible after dark.
Solar energy also finds its way into residential life. Seven solar water heaters installed on the hostel rooftop provide hot water for both the hostel and kitchen, cutting down electricity use while quietly normalising renewable energy for hundreds of students. It’s a reminder that sustainability doesn’t have to disrupt comfort — it can enhance it.
Together, these initiatives are part of Miranda House’s larger Green Campus vision, aimed at lowering its carbon footprint while embedding renewable energy into everyday campus functioning.
The college has even explored future expansion, inviting proposals for a large-scale 1000 kWp rooftop solar plant under the RESCO model, signalling a long-term commitment rather than a one-time effort.
From discards to daily impact
Perhaps the most compelling story of Miranda House’s sustainability journey lies in how it treats waste. The college runs an on-campus composting unit where kitchen waste and garden clippings are transformed into nutrient-rich compost.
This compost then feeds the very lawns and plants that define the campus landscape — a full circle students can literally walk through.
At the paper recycling unit, students learn how discarded notes and documents are transformed into handmade paper products. Photograph: (Miranda House)
Alongside this is a paper recycling plant, run with active student involvement through MH Vatavaran, the college’s environmental society. Old notes, administrative paper, and discarded sheets are recycled into handmade paper products like envelopes and folders, many of which are sold on campus.
Every drop counts: A water-wise campus
Water conservation at Miranda House is equally thoughtful. Rainwater harvesting systems with underground tanks help recharge groundwater, while grey water from hostels is reused for gardening through hydroponics and irrigation systems.
At a time when Delhi faces recurring water stress, these systems quietly reduce dependence on external water sources.
What makes this approach effective is that it blends seamlessly into daily routines. Students may not always see the pipes or tanks, but they experience the outcome — greener spaces, functioning gardens, and a campus that respects water as a limited resource.
Miranda House’s real strength lies in how sustainability shows up in everyday behaviour. Students switch off lights, sort their waste, and treat green spaces with care because that is how the campus works. Over time, these small actions shape how people think about resources and responsibility.
The campus’s consistent approach to sustainability hasn’t gone unnoticed. In 2025, the college was crowned the cleanest and greenest campus of Delhi University under the Swachhta Pakhwada Campaign — a recognition that reflects years of everyday environmental practices rather than one-time drives.
For other campuses, the lesson is clear: you don’t need radical overhauls to start. You need consistent systems, student ownership, and the patience to let sustainability become routine.
