On the journey toward building a sustainable and modern university, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) implements measures to measure and establish clear targets, guiding UEHers to adopt sustainable mobility methods in daily life. Encouraging walking, cycling, carpooling, and using public transport not only helps reduce emissions and improve health but also forms lasting green habits. These strategic efforts contribute to building a civilized university environment, accompanying Ho Chi Minh City toward a safe, modern, and sustainable city.

Green Campus Regulations

To realize the vision of becoming a sustainable university, UEH issued the Green Campus Practice Regulations in July 2023, applicable to all students, faculty, and staff across all campuses. This regulation lays the foundation for building a green UEHer community, with 3R principles – reduce, reuse, recycle – along with energy, water, and resource conservation. This serves as the legal basis and strategy for UEH to implement all environmentally friendly activities while raising awareness and individual responsibility within the community.

The regulations specifically focus on measuring, setting targets, and encouraging sustainable mobility forms, from walking and cycling to carpooling and public transport. These mechanisms help UEH record and evaluate the effectiveness of green behavior, form sustainable habits, reduce emissions, and simultaneously improve health and quality of life. Through implementing these strategic actions, each UEHer contributes to building a civilized, modern learning and working environment, accompanying Ho Chi Minh City toward a safe, green, and sustainable city.

In 2024, UEH conducted a mobility behavior survey of 4,000 students, faculty, and staff across campuses, recording 57.5% sustainable mobility methods (including walking, cycling, carpooling, using UEH Shuttle Bus, Metro, electric vehicles) and 42.5% single-occupancy vehicles (SOV). Based on this, UEH set targets to increase the sustainable mobility rate to 65% by 2026 while reducing single-occupancy vehicle use to ≤35%. These targets are integrated into the Green Campus Regulations (2024) and the UEH Green Campus Action Plan, with specific solutions: expanding UEH Shuttle Bus to connect directly with Metro Line 1, developing electric vehicle charging stations, and launching green behavior communication campaigns such as “Go Green Mobility” and “Power-Up Steps”. UEH commits to conducting annual measurements and reporting progress to the UEH Sustainability Project Board, aiming to form green mobility habits, reduce emissions, and contribute to Ho Chi Minh City’s sustainable development goals.

UEH Spreads Green Awareness: From Sustainable Transport to Green Campus

UEH has long pioneered green transport behavior education, notably through the “Route2school Education” project in collaboration with the Institute for Mobility (IMOB) – Hasselt University, Belgium. The project combines virtual reality (VR) technology and gamification elements, helping students enhance their knowledge of traffic laws, train observation skills, identify hazards, handle real situations, and form safe, sustainable mobility habits. UEH proactively measures and establishes specific targets for green behavior, encouraging walking, cycling, carpooling, or using public transport. Integrating these educational platforms allows faculty and parents to monitor the learning process, evaluate effectiveness, and provide data to develop initiatives promoting green behavior within the UEHer community, toward a safe, modern, and sustainable transport environment.

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Practical platform for changing traffic behavior using VR technology

Parallel to transport behavior education, UEH integrates Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on protecting nature and exploiting and using resources rationally into the Ho Chi Minh’s Ideology course and related subjects. Students are encouraged to apply knowledge into practice, from waste sorting and energy conservation to choosing green transport, creating direct connections between awareness, behavior, and social responsibility. Practical projects such as UEH Green Campus and Zero Waste Campus not only provide hands-on experience but also help students clearly recognize the impact of individual behavior on the environment and community. This combination creates a sustainable academic ecosystem, aimed at building a Green Campus where knowledge, attitudes, and environmental actions are connected, while realizing UEH’s sustainable development goals and those of the community.

Sustainable Transport – Toward a Green Future for Ho Chi Minh City and the UEHer Community

Air pollution in Ho Chi Minh City is becoming a serious issue, with most emissions arising from personal transport vehicles. In this context, promoting electric vehicles as a choice for Gen Z not only carries environmental strategic significance but also contributes to forming sustainable consumption habits. Research by UEH students indicates that consumer attitudes, awareness of electric vehicles, price factors, and warranty services are key factors influencing electric vehicle usage intentions. Raising awareness about environmental benefits, developing charging station infrastructure, and government incentive policies will help increase motivation to switch to green vehicles while contributing to global sustainable development goals such as SDG 7, SDG 12, and SDG 13.

Besides electric vehicles, green public transport also plays an important role in building sustainable cities. The UEH Shuttle Bus service was launched with dedicated routes for UEH students and staff, providing safe, fast, economical, and environmentally friendly transport. In 2025, UEH Shuttle Bus updated its new route, adding stops connecting directly with Metro Line 1, helping UEHers save commuting time while increasing convenience and modernity for travel between campus locations. With flexible schedules, modern amenities, and reasonable fares, UEH Shuttle Bus not only reduces single-occupancy vehicles, saves energy, and reduces emissions, but also forms sustainable commuting habits while connecting educational experiences with practicing green lifestyles within the UEH community.

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UEH Shuttle Bus updates new route from 2025

Beyond improvements to the UEH Shuttle Bus route, UEH students also experienced Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien), connecting directly with Shuttle Bus stops. This experience program not only helps students travel conveniently and quickly but also provides practical insights into modern and sustainable public transport. Through real journeys, students clearly recognize the role of using green vehicles in reducing pollution, saving energy, and improving urban quality of life. These experiences simultaneously encourage UEH students to form green mobility habits, contributing to building a civilized, modern learning community and heading toward smart, sustainable cities.

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UEH students participate in experiencing Metro Line 1 Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien

Green transportation not only protects the environment but also improves quality of life and promotes economic development. Forms such as public bicycles, electric buses, personal electric vehicles, and pedestrian streets help reduce emissions, save energy, improve health, and create friendly public spaces. When the UEHer community participates in choosing green vehicles, supporting sustainable transport policies, and experiencing services like Shuttle Bus, each small action contributes to creating significant change. This forms the foundation for a green, modern, and sustainable future for Ho Chi Minh City while spreading the green living spirit within the UEH community.

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Green Transportation Trend

Sustainable Steps

In the context of increasing urbanization and accelerating lifestyles, walking is not only an environmentally friendly means of transport but also contributes to improving quality of life. Recognizing this importance, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) implemented the “Project on Developing an Intersectional Equity Framework to Encourage Walkability”, collaborating with prestigious universities within and outside the region to survey and analyze difficulties and needs of pedestrians, especially vulnerable groups in central Ho Chi Minh City. The project provides practical data on infrastructure, safety, and public spaces, thereby offering practical solutions to improve walking experiences while raising community awareness about the health and environmental benefits of walking in modern cities.

Not stopping at research, UEH also realizes solutions encouraging environmentally friendly physical activity through UEH Green Campus Calories Stair “Power-Up Steps”, a practical initiative encouraging students to use stairs daily. Each step on the staircase not only helps improve personal health but also contributes to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions from elevator use. With a simple yet meaningful message: each step is a source of energy for health and the environment, the project creates motivation for UEHers to form active, green lifestyles – protecting themselves while contributing to the community and sustainable urban environment.

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UEH Green Campus Calories Stair “Power-Up Steps”

Compared to 2024, 2025 marks a strategic advancement in UEH’s approach to building a green community and promoting sustainable behavior. While 2024 focused primarily on encouraging students to use UEH Shuttle Bus and walk, emphasizing personal experience and public transport convenience, 2025 expanded the scope with more multidimensional solutions. UEH not only integrates sustainable mobility forms such as cycling and carpooling but also directly connects practical projects such as UEH Green Campus Calories Stair and Metro Line 1 experiences. This development demonstrates not only the formation of green mobility habits but also emphasizes the connection between individual behavior and the goal of building smart, sustainable cities. From awareness to practice, 2025 reflects a clearer strategic vision and the ability to transform green initiatives into practical impact on the UEHer community.

The green steps that UEH initiates are not merely individual behaviors but part of an overall strategy to build a sustainable university and smart city. From measuring and setting targets to implementing sustainable mobility forms, practical projects, and real experiences, UEH has created an education-action ecosystem connecting awareness, attitudes, and environmental behavior. These efforts contribute to shaping green lifestyles within the UEHer community, improving quality of life, protecting the environment, and heading toward a modern, civilized, and sustainable Ho Chi Minh City – while affirming UEH’s pioneering role in spreading the sustainable development spirit to the broader community.

Open related links:

Extracted Hyperlinks

1. Route2school Education – https://future.ueh.edu.vn/en/chi-tiet-knowlege/podcast-route2school-education-smart-online-traffic-safety-education-system-project/

2. Ho Chi Minh’s Ideology – https://future.ueh.edu.vn/en/chi-tiet-knowlege/research-contribution-applying-ho-chi-minhs-ideology-on-environmental-protection-in-environmental-education-for-students-towards-a-green-university/

3. Research by UEH students – https://gogreen.ueh.edu.vn/en/podcast/podcast-the-affecting-factors-on-generation-zs-intention-for-electric-vehicles-use-in-ho-chi-minh-city

4. UEH Shuttle Bus updated its new route – https://ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/ueh-shuttle-bus-don-nam-moi-voi-lo-trinh-moi-73245

5. experienced Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien) – https://ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/sinh-vien-ueh-trai-nghiem-tuyen-metro-so-1-ben-thanh-suoi-tien-73000

6. Green transportation – https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/the-trend-of-green-transportation-towards-a-sustainable-future-73221

7. Project on Developing an Intersectional Equity Framework to Encourage Walkability – https://future.ueh.edu.vn/en/chi-tiet-knowlege/podcast-project-on-developing-an-intersectional-equity-framework-to-encourage-walkability/

8. UEH Green Campus Calories Stair “Power-Up Steps” – https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/launching-ueh-green-campus-calories-stair-power-up-steps-every-step-is-a-source-of-energy-for-the-environment-and-health-73045