India’s Colleges Begin BRICS Sustainable Lifestyle Week: Seven Days, Seven Green Habits

India’s universities and colleges begin a week of green campus action today, 1 November 2026, as the BRICS Sustainable Lifestyle Week 2026 opens across the country. The seven-day campaign, organised under Mission LiFE, asks students, teachers and staff to change small daily habits — from saving energy and water to refusing single-use plastics.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) issued a circular on 30 October 2026 inviting all universities and higher education institutions to take part between 1 and 7 November 2026. The campaign runs during India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026, and its day-wise plan comes from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Seven days, seven habits

Each day of the week carries one theme, so campuses can focus their activities and measure what they actually do. The plan moves from personal health to energy, water, food, plastics, electronic waste and finally waste in the wider community.

How colleges take part

Institutions have been asked to involve all their departments and constituent units, and to draw in students, teachers, staff and representatives of industry and civil society. Participation is channelled through green clubs, eco-clubs, the National Service Scheme and the National Cadet Corps, according to the UGC communication reported by education outlets.

Each participating institution must nominate a nodal officer to register and upload its activities on the Ministry’s Meri LiFE portal. After the week ends, institutions must submit a short report on their activities and best practices through the same portal by 12 November 2026. The Ministry has also run daily online orientation sessions from 27 October to 7 November 2026, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Beyond the campus gates

The week is not confined to campuses. In Jaipur, local reporting describes a free “Cyclothon for All” on 1 November, starting at 7 a.m. from the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board office in Jhalana Doongri, organised with the state’s environment and climate change department. The ride is presented as a way to make cycling more visible in the city’s transport system — the same kind of everyday choice the campus week promotes.

Why small habits are the point

The campaign’s argument is deliberately practical: climate action is not only about summits and targets, but about the routines millions of people repeat every day. A switched-off appliance, a repaired gadget, a reusable bottle or a collected piece of electronic waste may look small alone, but multiplied across campuses and communities they change demand for energy, water and materials.

The timing adds weight. The week opens just days before COP31 meets in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026, where governments will negotiate the next steps on climate action. Awareness weeks like this one are where those negotiations meet daily life — in classrooms, hostels and streets.

Related reading: Red Cross Takes Climate Awareness Door to Door in Borno, Nigeria

Key facts

• BRICS Sustainable Lifestyle Week 2026 runs from 1 to 7 November 2026 in India.
• It is organised under Mission LiFE, during India’s BRICS Chairship in 2026.
• The University Grants Commission issued its circular to higher education institutions on 30 October 2026.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change set the seven daily themes.
• Activity reports must be submitted on the Meri LiFE portal by 12 November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the BRICS Sustainable Lifestyle Week?

It is a seven-day awareness campaign, from 1 to 7 November 2026, that encourages students and academic communities in India to adopt environmentally responsible daily habits under Mission LiFE.

Who is taking part?

Universities and colleges across India, including their students, teachers and staff, along with departments, constituent units, eco-clubs, the National Service Scheme and the National Cadet Corps.

What are the seven daily themes?

Healthy lifestyles, saving energy, saving water, sustainable food systems, saying no to single-use plastics, reducing e-waste and reducing waste — one theme per day from 1 to 7 November.

How do institutions report their activities?

Each institution nominates a nodal officer to register and upload activities on the Meri LiFE portal, and must submit a short report on its activities and best practices by 12 November 2026.

Why does the week matter for climate action?

Because everyday choices about energy, water, food, plastics and waste add up across millions of people. The week tries to turn awareness into habits that continue after 7 November, just as COP31 prepares to meet in Antalya.