Campus Engagement
Introduction
Engaging in sustainability issues through co-curricular activities allows students to deepen and apply their understandings of sustainability principles. Institution-sponsored co-curricular sustainability offerings, often coordinated by student affairs offices, help integrate sustainability into the campus culture and set a positive tone for the institution. Faculty and staff members’ daily decisions impact an institution’s sustainability performance. Equipping faculty and staff with the tools, knowledge, and motivation to adopt behavior changes that promote sustainability is an essential activity of a sustainable campus.
Featured Resources
New Resources
Earth Month Activities at CSU Channel Islands
- California State University, Channel Islands (CA)
California State University Channel Islands celebrates Earth Day throughout the entire month of April. In April 2024, the university organized a series of events to celebrate the earth and promote ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Upcycle Journal Day at Joliet Junior College
- Joliet Junior College (IL)
Students made journals from homemade and G.O.O.S. paper.
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Auburn University Earth Day 2024
- Auburn University (AL)
Auburn University celebrates Earth Day 2024
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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KAUST SDG Highlight Report 2023
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Makkah)
KAUST proudly presents its latest SDG Highlight Report, offering a snapshot of the institution's targeted efforts and successes over 2023 in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Publications
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Bowie State University celebrates Earth Month 2024
- Bowie State University (MD)
Bowie State University celebrated a diverse series of events throughout the entire month of April starting with the April 3 participation in the Maryland Climate Teach-In and culminating on April ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Sustainable Garden
- California State University, Stanislaus (CA)
Master Gardener and Gardening Specialist Hector Vera leads a tour at the Sustainable Garden at Stanislaus State. In partnership with the agriculture department, this tour was organized and promoted by ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Students of Department of Bioinformatics Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar (SBBWUP), Pakistan celebrated Earth Day at campus through plantation and cleanliness campaign.
- Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University
Female students of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar took part in plantation and cleanliness drive at campus under the supervision of Dr. Nosheen Bibi, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioinformatics ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Students of Department of Food and Nutrition, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar (SBBWUP), Pakistan celebrated Earth Day at campus to raise awareness about sustainability for DNGFE activity.
- Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University
Female students of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar, showcased importance of environmental conservation and sustainability for encouraging other students, faculty and staff to come together and take action for ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Rice University Earth Month Kick-Off Festival 2024
- Rice University (TX)
Rice University's Office of Sustainability hosted an Earth Month Kick-Off Festival in the Rice Memorial Center. The event featured over 20 campus and community organizations and drew over 150 ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Sustainability at Community Colleges: It’s More Than Recycling
- McHenry County College (IL)
- AASHE (MA)
I conducted and analyzed interviews with sustainability professionals at community colleges, specifically those with enrollment under 10,000 students in the Midwest. Targeting this enrollment ceiling specifically because I want ...
- Posted May 2, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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Green Grad Party
- University of Southern California (CA)
USC students decorate their graduation caps at the Green Grad party hosted by the Office of Sustainability.
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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USC Sustainability Town Hall
- University of Southern California (CA)
Students gather in the USC Sustainability Hub to hear from a panel of speakers provide updates on campus sustainability efforts.
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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End-of-Year Party for Graduating Interns
- University of Southern California (CA)
Graduating interns from the USC Office of Sustainability pose with their certificates of appreciation in front of the mural in the campus Sustainability Hub.
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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Concordia University's Earth Week BioBlitz
- Concordia University
Concordia community members gathered on Loyola campus to participate in the 2024 City Nature Challenge (BioBlitz). This is an international competition encouraging citizen scientist to help out the scientific community ...
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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PCC Earth Week 2024
- Portland Community College (OR)
We celebrated Earth Week at Portland Community College (PCC) with over 30 events throughout the week! We hosted tours and planting parties in our on-campus Learning Gardens, upcycling workshops in ...
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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USC Peace Garden Seed Giveaway
- University of Southern California (CA)
Student volunteers gather at the USC Peace Garden to harvest and label seeds collected from the garden to give away.
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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Arts & Climate Collective Festival
- University of Southern California (CA)
USC students participate in the annual Arts & CLimate Collective Festival during Earth Month.
- Posted April 29, 2024
- Photographs
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Nebraska Native Pollinator Garden at Creighton University
- Creighton University (NE)
For Earth Day 2024, students, faculty and staff were invited to prepare the Nebraska Native Pollinator Garden, located on the Creighton University campus in Omaha, NE, for its next growing ...
- Posted April 29, 2024
- Photographs
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Earth Fest Celebration for Earth Month at Oklahoma State
- Oklahoma State University (OK)
Each year on Earth Day, we hold our campus Earth Fest, bringing together sustainability-focused student and faculty groups. The event features information about Energy Services, SGA sustainability initiatives, and various ...
- Posted April 29, 2024
- Photographs
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Students at the Earth Day Fair
- University of South Dakota (SD)
These photos depict students enjoying the USD Earth Day Fair by making air plant terrariums with the USD Environmental Club
- Posted April 26, 2024
- Photographs
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USD Earth Day Fair
- University of South Dakota (SD)
Stop by the MUC to meet with local organizations and learn more about their sustainability efforts. Also enjoy fun, sustainable crafts and activities like decorating your own reusable tote bag ...
- Posted April 25, 2024
- Photographs
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Dunston Lecture
- University of South Dakota (SD)
Workshop: Dr. Susan Dunston, Professor Emeritus of English and Philosophy at New Mexico Technical College, will be leading an interactive workshop on teaching nature writing and environmental literacy for students ...
- Posted April 25, 2024
- Photographs
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Reproductive Rights in Higher Education: University Health Clinic Scorecards
- Bard College (NY)
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
- AASHE (MA)
- Center for Biological Diversity (AZ)
College is a time for discovery – a time to learn more about yourself and others. It is when youth move into adulthood. This transition should be done in an educated ...
- Posted April 25, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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Braiding Sweetgrass Discussion
- University of South Dakota (SD)
Synopsis: As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces ...
- Posted April 25, 2024
- Photographs
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UMD Students Celebrate Earth Day at EarthFest Event
- University of Maryland, College Park (MD)
Hosted by the University of Maryland's SGA Sustainability Committee, Office of Sustainability, Dept. of Resident Life, & Residence Hall Association, EarthFest is a fun outdoor festival to celebrate Earth ...
- Posted April 25, 2024
- Photographs
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Un-Can-It for the Planet
- Johnson County Community College (KS)
An annual event where student unpackage expired food from our Student Basic Needs Center and compost it, and students and staff are also able to bring expired or stale food ...
- Posted April 25, 2024
- Photographs
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Earth day Celebration 2024 @ AUC Tahrir CultureFest
- American University in Cairo (Cairo)
Sunday, April 21, 2024 Reconnecting People: Better Together Reveal of the Third Edition of AUC's Sustainability Report, 2024: Learn about AUC's newest sustainability report, which showcases our University ...
- Posted April 24, 2024
- Photographs
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Earth Day Recycling Drive
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
- Casella (VT)
Student group Waste Watchers, the MIT Office of Sustainability staff, and MIT's waste hauler Casella led an Earth Day event to collect small electronics for specialty recycling. The event ...
- Posted April 24, 2024
- Photographs
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory - Earth Day Beach Cleanup
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (NY)
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory held a beach cleanup for their beach on the campus. This was organized through the Sustainability Committee as an attempt to bring the lab community together ...
- Posted April 23, 2024
- Photographs
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Happy World Earth Day 2024: Planet Vs Plastic! UM promotes its Action Plan on Single-Use Plastics and Disposable Items Reduction
- University of Malaya
Universiti Malaya Sustainable Development Centre (UMSDC) wishes all of you Happy World Earth Day 2024 with the theme 'Planet vs Plastic'
We invite you to join us with our 4 ...
- Posted April 23, 2024
- Photographs
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Live Green, Speak Green: Sustainable Stories from Iowa State University
- Iowa State University (IA)
Captured on the vibrant South Library Lawn, this moment epitomizes the spirit of Earth Day at Iowa State University. Here, students, faculty, and Ames community unite, exemplified by a lively ...
- Posted April 23, 2024
- Photographs
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Beat the Hell Outta (BTHO) Climate Change
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Texas A&M University students learn from over 20 campus and community organizations at a Campus Earth Day event in Rudder Plaza to earn a BTHO Climate Change t-shirt.
- Posted April 23, 2024
- Photographs
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UNC Charlotte Campus Beautification Day
- University of North Carolina, Charlotte (NC)
University of North Carolina Charlotte staff, students, faculty, and alumni planted trees and picked up litter around campus on April 17th in celebration of Earth Month.
- Posted April 23, 2024
- Photographs
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How Michigan State University and Sparty Celebrate Earth Month
- Michigan State University (MI)
These pictures are from our Environmental Education Fair that Michigan State University's Office of Sustainability hosted in partnership with MSU student leadership. Our beloved mascot Sparty came to visit ...
- Posted April 17, 2024
- Photographs
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A Comparison of Single-Use and Reusable Drinkware A Life Cycle Assessment
- Michigan Technological University (MI)
Sponsored by Sussex Injection Molding from Sussex, WI, the OneTumbler Sustainability team in the Consumer Product Manufacturing Enterprise aims to encourage sustainability on Michigan Technological University’s campus through promoting ...
- Posted April 16, 2024
- Publications
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Get all the 17 SDGs for the Earth
- Mahidol University (Bangkok)
At Mahidol University, we work hard to push SDGs agenda to all members. We don't just teach about SDGs, but we live the SDGs.
- Posted April 5, 2024
- Photographs
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Higher Education Foodscapes as Sites of Action and Transformation
- AASHE (MA)
- University of Melbourne (Victoria)
This webinar presents an in-depth look at foodscapes in higher education. Initially it will look at defining both campus foodscapes and higher education foodscapes and then detail various aspects of ...
- Posted March 4, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education Leveraging Human Behavior in Organizations Home Book
- Macalester College (MN)
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (IL)
- University of St. Thomas (MN)
Sustainability is one of the most critical challenges facing humanity. Changing Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is crucial to overcoming that challenge because of their roles providing cutting edge knowledge and ...
- Posted Feb. 28, 2024
- Publications
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TASK™ by Sulitest – Measuring and Reporting Sustainability Literacy
- AASHE (MA)
- HEC Montréal (QC)
- KEDGE Business School (Bordeaux)
Assessing the sustainability literacy of students helps institutions evaluate the success of their sustainability education initiatives. It can also earn points in the Sustainability Literacy Assessment credit of STARS, the ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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It’s Our Future: Sustainability Through Student Leadership
- The Student PIRGs (OR)
This session will demonstrate how students in higher education can spearhead sustainable change on and off campus when institutions and organizations provide them with the tools to do so. Utilizing ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Intersectional Pathways for Sustainability: Empowering Students through Diverse Experiences
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
This session explores how real-world experiences for undergraduates drive sustainability progress within universities, offering multiple pathways and entry points to a four-year sustainability-focused journey. It emphasizes the importance of hands-on ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Small but Mighty: Designing Micro Projects for Outsized Impact
- Davidson College (NC)
- East Carolina University (NC)
- University of Georgia (GA)
Small-scale projects can feel like a distraction. With limited resources and unlimited potential projects, focusing on big picture priorities like reducing emissions or improving waste diversion rates makes sense. However ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Inner Development Goals for Sustainable Development Goal Success
- Auburn University (AL)
- Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Is it possible to influence the outer world by changing our inner world? If so, what skills, abilities, and qualities does one need to effectively bring about change, and how ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Progress Not Perfection: How to Tell Your Story Along the Way
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
- Colorado State University (CO)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
Communicating about sustainability initiatives and climate action can be hard. Sharing your story about climate neutrality goals, engagement initiatives, and small victories throughout a project can be even more challenging ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Sustainability is a Home Run
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Athletic Departments are the front porch of the university. This visibility provides opportunities for storytelling, demonstrating impact, and engagement. Although it may not be the most important department, it is ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Sustainable Lab Ambassadors: Using students as green lab guides
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
The Penn State Sustainable Lab Ambassador (SLA) program is an engaged scholarship approach to creating a more sustainable research lab culture and operation while preparing researchers to build a more ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Designing Effective Sustainability Communications in Higher Education
- University of Nebraska - Lincoln (NE)
In pursuit of increasing the effectiveness of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) communications efforts surrounding sustainability, UNL’s Office of Sustainability (OS) and University Communications department collaborated to develop ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Growing Your People: Advancing Sustainability Through Employee Empowerment
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (NY)
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
Learn how to harness the potential of existing employees to help further your organization’s sustainability goals by designing thriving Green Ambassador & professional development programs that empower employees to ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Utilizing Bees to Strengthen Relationships in Higher Education
- Hillsborough Community College (FL)
Finding funding to support sustainability related initiatives can be difficult in any institution. Come learn about how a Florida community college utilizes their bee hives to strengthen relationships throughout the ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Changing the Way Sustainability Feels by Engaging the Five Senses
- University of Southern Maine (ME)
Too often, Universities’ sustainability outreach efforts feel transactional and lacking in human empathy for the intended audience. Sometimes we, the practitioners, get so caught up in crafting the perfect arguments ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
EN 1: Student Educators Program
- Percent of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program
- Description of the student educators program (1st program)
- Description of the student educators program (2nd program)
- Brief description of the student educators program (3rd program)
- Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per students served
- Website URL - Student sustainability educators programs
EN 2: Student Orientation
- Percent of entering students that have an opportunity to participate in sustainability-inclusive orientation activities and programming
- Description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation
- Website URL - Information about sustainability in student orientation
EN 3: Student Life
- Description of the active student groups focused on sustainability
- Description of student gardens, farms, CSAs, fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects
- Description of the student-run enterprises
- Description of student sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives
- Description of sustainability-focused conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events for students
- Description of sustainability-focused cultural arts events, installations, or performances
- Description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles
- Description of sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences
- Description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills
- Description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution
- Description of graduation pledge(s)
- Description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives
EN 4: Student Life
- Website URL - Central sustainability website
- Description of sustainability newsletter or social media platform(s)
- Description of the signage that highlights campus sustainability features
- Description of the sustainability walking map or tour
- Description of the guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience
- Description of other comprehensive sustainability outreach materials and publications
EN 5: Student Life
- Description of the first sustainability outreach campaign
- Description of the second sustainability outreach campaign
- Description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns
EN 6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
- Description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted
- Copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture (upload)
- Copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture (description)
- Website URL - Assessment of sustainability culture
EN 7: Employee Educators Program
- Percent of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program
- Description of the employee educators program (1st program)
- Description of the employee educators program (2nd program)
- Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employees served
- Website URL - Employee sustainability educators programs
EN 8: Employee Orientation
- Percent of new employees that have an opportunity to participate in sustainability-inclusive orientation activities and programming
- Description of how sustainability is included prominently in new employee orientation
- Website URL - Information about sustainability in employee orientation
EN 9: Staff Professional Development & Training
- Estimated percentage of regular, non-academic staff that participates annually in sustainability professional development and training
- Description of any internal sustainability professional development and training opportunities
- Description of any external professional development and training opportunities in sustainability that are supported by the institution
- Estimated percentage of staff for which sustainability is included in performance reviews
- Description of how sustainability is included in staff performance reviews
- Website URL - Information about staff professional development and training in sustainability
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.