The carports, covering almost 200 parking spots, have added 1500 solar panels to the campus - bringing the total to more than 3300.

La Trobe Vice-Chancellor John Dewar AO said one third of electricity used at the Bendigo campus would now generated from onsite renewables.

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"Not only do students and staff now have a shady place to park their cars during hot days, but with this investment we have significantly reduced the campus' running costs and carbon emissions," Professor Dewar said.

"It's exciting to see these carports and other initiatives come to fruition after years of planning, as we draw closer to achieving our goal of net zero carbon emissions on our regional campuses by 2022, and across the university by 2029."

The carports were part of a suite of measures the university implemented in Bendigo to reach the 2022 goal - including installing thousands of high-efficiency LED lights and a large-scale organic waste composter.

Bendigo Sustainability Group president Colin Lambie said La Trobe University was a model for other organisations.

"Here we see an organisation that has set itself an ambitious target, and is investing a range of energy- efficient, sustainable measures to achieve a good outcome for itself and for the community," Mr Lambie said.

"Reducing carbon emissions and impact on the environment should be a significant focus for all organisations."

The solar panels at La Trobe's Bendigo campus equate to 1.15 megawatts or the equivalent of 230 household systems.

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