Schooled in Sustainability: STARS Grades First Campuses

By Paula Melton

Schooled in Sustainability: STARS Grades First Campuses—Thirty-nine colleges and universities have received sustainability ratings through the new Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS). Nine schools got a gold rating, twenty got a silver rating, nine got a bronze rating, and one reported its data without requesting a rating. The STARS program rates institutions based on self-reported indicators that include sustainability education and research; efficiency of operations, including measures of energy, carbon, water, and waste; economic goals such as socially responsible investing; and social factors like diversity, employee wellness, and availability of child care. The program currently has 245 participants, most of which have not yet reached their twelve-month reporting deadline. STARS, developed and administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), is specific to institutions of higher education and should not be confused with the similarly named STAR Community Index. Scorecards for all rated schools are available online at www.stars.aashe.org/institutions.