Established in 1972, UTM earned the status of a Research University on 10th of June 2010. Comprising 1,407 academic staffs with Doctor of Philosophy degree, UTM currently has 26,316 students with 3,974 are international. To date, UTM has achieved world recognition by the QS World University Rankings which are #217 in the world and #46 in Asia. With its vision to be a premier global academic and research institution, excelling in science, technology and engineering, UTM is moving forward to reach greater heights in terms of capacity building and professional development to achieve UTM Desired State by 2020. 

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Dato ‘Seri Douglas Uggah Embas officially had launched a UTM as a Sustainable Campus on March 16 2011.Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Ir Dr. Zaini Ujang was mentioned Campus Sustainability Policy and framework of a comprehensive conservation program to achieve a natural balance and reduce carbon emissions, resource conservation practices, promotion minimum garbage, recycle and adopt eco-friendly food packaging. Since 2015, the new direction of greening university framework was initiated by newest Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Ir. Dr Wahid Omar in formulating the Low Carbon Campus streamline for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This roadmap also involves minimizing the negative impact of its activity on the environment and society. The main advantage of applying a campus sustainability model in UTM is that promotes a Living Laboratories (LL) environment, which is potentially effective for sustainability practices of campus education, research, operations and community engagement. Ultimately, the campus is not only an institutional for academic achievement, but also promotes a sustainable campus community, fulfilling the sustainability initiatives at larger sustainability network.