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
Leadership in Sustainable Grounds Management: The Audubon International Experience
- American University (DC)
- University of Florida (FL)
- Niagara College Canada (ON)
- Audubon International (NY)
This presentation will provide an open dialogue and best practice sharing on the process of achieving Audubon International's (AI) Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACSP) certification at both public and ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Lettuce Talk: Students and Dining Staff Collaborating on Plant-Based Dining
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
- Sodexo USA (MD)
Plant-based diets can be healthier and more sustainable than meat-centric diets but plant-based options in college dining halls often fail to be crave-worthy. At the University of Pittsburgh dining halls ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Real Food Challenge at University of Pittsburgh
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
The Real Food Challenge is a nation-wide initiative to bring local, fair, humane, and ecologically sound food to college campuses. By 2020, every participating institution aims to have 20% of ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Using FEEDS Communication Platform to Share Sustainability News From Dining Services
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
- Chartwells Higher Education (NY)
As part of our commitment to sustainability, in October 2017 UNC Asheville Dining Services, a division of Chartwells Higher Ed, rolled out a new public communications platform called FEEDS: Farm-Forward ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Local Food Sourcing in Kentucky: A Case Study in Higher Ed Collaboration
- Aramark (PA)
The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have a unique approach to sourcing local food. Hear from the Sustainability Managers from their dining services and the Executive Director ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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UT Farm Stand: A Campus-Scale Model for Sustainable Food Production
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
At the University of Texas, UT Farm Stand offers an innovative campus-scale model for a sustainable food production system. This student-run program depicts the unique tale of farm to market ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Building a Meal Sharing Program
- Johnson County Community College (KS)
Johnson County Kansas has mirrored the increased food insecurity that has been prevalent at the national level. Johnson County Community College has tackled this issue by creating a meal share ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Changing Plates: How Aramark Partnered With HSUS to Lead Sustainable Change Through Food
- Aramark (PA)
- Humane Society of the United States (MD)
Demand for more plant-based menus continues to grow as students become more knowledgeable about their food choices and the impact on the planet. As part of their continued relationship of ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Expanding the Mission of a CanstructionU Competition to Include Partnerships for Hunger Awareness
- Penn State Brandywine (PA)
As part of a year-long effort to develop community partnerships themed on sustainability, Penn State Brandywine connected with the local food bank for an academic and volunteer collaboration. In the ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Driving Food Reconnection at Arizona State University through Collaboration between USP and Aramark
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Aramark (PA)
Surveys conducted at Arizona State University dining locations indicate that the vast majority of customers care about using natural resources responsibly and make a conscious effort to only take what ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Closing the Loop: Building a Healthy and Sustainable Campus Food System
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has made remarkable changes to its food landscape in the past few years. Our campus supports and hosts multiple organic food learning gardens as well ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Empowering Student Leaders to Create a Zero Waste Food Court
- University of California, Irvine (CA)
- Aramark (PA)
In order to divert 95% of solid waste from the landfill, UCI Hospitality & Dining (HDS) and Aramark collaborate with Social Ecology Field Study interns, Campus as a Living Lab ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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BYO[Solutions]: Reuse Programs in Campus Dining
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
College campuses are hubs of waste, from plastic bags to disposable food containers and single-use coffee cups. However, universities can use this opportunity to implement waste-reduction programs with the aim ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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The Real Food Challenge: Bringing Healthy and Local Food Options into Campus Dining Halls
- Case Western Reserve University (OH)
Across the United States, college campuses are partaking in the Real Food Challenge, a national organization that promotes the development of local, fair, sustainable and humane food systems in college ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Encouraging Sustainable Food Purchasing Through Student Programs
- Skidmore College (NY)
Many institutions endeavor to serve local and sustainable food within its dining services, but the complex and often opaque food system presents significant challenges to identifying and sourcing responsibly-produced products ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Campus Advocacy for Global Impact: Fair Trade and the United Nations SDGs
- Fair Trade Colleges & Universities
Fair Trade Campaigns is a powerful grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of conscious consumers and Fair Trade advocates on campuses and communities across the U.S. We are part of a ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Fair Trade and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- University of North Carolina, Charlotte (NC)
- Fair Trade Colleges & Universities
Fair Trade Campaigns is a powerful grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of conscious consumers and Fair Trade advocates on campuses and communities across the U.S. We are part of a ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Student Funded Initiatives & the Intersections of Social Justice & Sustainability
- Portland Community College (OR)
This is going to address clear and tangible ways students can have agency and autonomy over some of their Student Activity Fees in order to create more than just a ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Shifting to 100% Renewable Campuses and Communities
- Environment America (MA)
- CALPIRG Students (CA)
College and university campuses can lead the way toward a future powered by 100 percent renewable energy. With the effects of climate change growing ever more apparent, and with the ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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The Present & Future of the Open Energy Dashboard
- Beloit College (WI)
The Open Energy Dashboard needs your help! OED is a free, open source energy dashboard that continues rapid development with 8-20 student programmers per semester and an expanding user base ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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From Student Power to Renewable Energy: A New Approach to Investing in Solar
- Southern Oregon University (OR)
Over the last year and a half, students at Southern Oregon University have worked to develop an innovative new approach to funding solar. Inspired by the power purchase agreement model ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Transitioning a 100-year Legacy of Campus Steam to 21st Century Geothermal
- Carleton College (MN)
Colleges and universities are leading the way on the next generation of energy solutions. Efficiency, decarbonization, and cost management are important elements of these programs, yet how we engage the ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Campus-Wide Change: Turn Down for Watt
- Northern Michigan University (MI)
Northern Michigan University's EcoReps and Facilities Management hosted the first Turn Down the Lights campaign during Sustainability Week in March 2018. During this week, corridor lights were turned off ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Occupant Engagement and Centralized Controls: a Hybrid Energy Management Solution With Major Savings
- Keewi Inc. (CA)
Introduction: Plug loads (PL), devices plugged into wall outlets, comprise approximately 1/3 of electricity use of commercial buildings, and are expected to rise to 1/2 by 2030. Traditional ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Creating a Successful Campus Temperature Policy
- Wesleyan University (CT)
Heating and cooling account for more than 60% of Wesleyan's energy and carbon footprint. In 2013, Wesleyan's Utilities Manager estimated that we could reduce our energy consumption 20 ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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The Impact of Real-time Visual Feedback on Electric Consumption at Middlebury College
- Middlebury College (VT)
The typical associations with 'energy efficiency' are production oriented. However, in order to make a meaningful impact, these innovative production solutions need to be matched equally with creative ways to ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Addressing Collegiate Basic Needs Through the Sustainability Lens
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
Addressing the basic needs of student populations is a fast growing and important topic on College and University campuses. Collegiate basic needs encompasses food and housing security, financial education and ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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What About Accessibility? The Intersection of Sustainability and Accessibility on College Campuses
- University of Illinois Chicago (IL)
In 2013, the United Nations defined accessibility as '... an inherent right that benefits all. It is not derived from special legislation; nor is it a concern solely to persons due ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Increasing Diversity in a Sustainability Internship Program
- University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
Institutionalized forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, and homophobia are embedded throughout our society. One of the many ways that this materializes is in the hiring process and in ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Moving Past Tokenization: Integrating Social Equity Internally and Programmatically
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
What does environmental justice programming really look like in higher education? How do we avoid tokenization of marginalized groups within the environmental movement and move beyond buzzwords such as diversity ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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A New Hope: Training Social Sustainabilistas
- Texas A&M University (TX)
In past AASHE presentations, our office highlighted how we weave social sustainability into our hiring, training, outreach, and planning efforts. This time, our focus will be the ways we implement ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Food and Housing Security Among NC State Students
- North Carolina State University (NC)
The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a comprehensive framework for approaching sustainability from a global perspective. The goals are also incredibly relevant for higher education not only in teaching, research ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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An Introduction to the Role of Race, Class and Gender Issues on Campus Sustainability Work
- Hackman Consulting Group
This introductory session explores the powerfully important ways that dynamics of race, class and gender (RCG) impact the efficacy of our campus sustainability work, and then suggests how a racial ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Developing and Utilizing a Social Justice Lens in Order to Achieve Global Goals for Sustainability
- Hackman Consulting Group
As evidenced by this national moment, a lack of critical understanding of social justice (SJ) issues makes achieving global sustainability goals near impossible. Conversely, thoughtful attention to SJ issues affords ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Integrating Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Into Higher Ed Sustainability Work
- Bucknell University (PA)
- University of Vermont (VT)
Better understanding, supporting, and addressing social sustainability work in higher ed is paramount in creating institutions that welcome and nurture intellectual and personal growth among a diverse campus community. The ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Turbulent Winds: Addressing 'Climate' at the Intersections of Diversity and Sustainability
- California State University, East Bay (CA)
- California State University, San Marcos (CA)
This session explores the intersection between diversity and sustainability efforts within two California State University campuses. Beginning with a focus on the forces that divide the sustainability and diversity communities ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Environmental Social Justice's Role in the Sustainable Development Goals
- University of Arizona (AZ)
At the University of Arizona campus, the Environmental Social Justice (SoJo) committee of the student government-sponsored program Students for Sustainability works on projects that raise awareness for environmental justice issues ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Decolonizing a College's Farm-to-Table Dinner
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
This interactive workshop will explore how Whiteness and other form of dominant social power structures can be inadvertently reproduced within farm-to-table events when embedded assumptions in regards to the program ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Preliminary Assessment of the Impact of Changes in Campus Sustainability Efforts on Student Environmental Knowledge and Behaviors
- Pittsburg State University (KS)
At Pittsburg State University, efforts to promote sustainability and environmental awareness has increased substantially since 2012. A formal Recycling Services Department was created, the number of activities by a campus ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Win-Win-Win: Incorporating Authentic Sustainability Learning Into Technical College Courses
- Western Technical College (WI)
Incorporating sustainability in the curriculum need not be a one-off or a stretch to fit in any curricula, even those not typically associated with sustainability. Hear one example of how ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Sustainability in the Visual Arts, Design and Creative Fields
- University of San Francisco (CA)
Designers make the most beautiful trash. Educators in Design, Visual Arts, and other creative fields are challenged with educating our students on how to create high impact messages with low ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Academia as a Platform for Student Sustainability Action on Campus and in Your Community
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
Students at the University of Pittsburgh have been driving environmental and sustainability changes on campus and in the Pittsburgh community for more than a decade through classes designed to engage ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Worry & Hope: Results from a Focus Group Study on Students and Sustainability Curriculum
- University of Hawaii System Office (HI)
The University of Hawaii used a focus group study across ten campuses to better understand student perspectives on global and local environmental issues, climate change, and sustainability, and how these ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Planning and Implementing a University-Wide Curriculum Disruption to Teach About Climate Justice
- The New School (NY)
From February 26-March 2, 2018, The New School will invite all 14,000 faculty, staff, and students to participate in a university-wide curriculum disruption entitled 'Disrupt Climate Injustice.' This means ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Laudato Si and UNSDGs: An Ignatian Framework for Teaching Human Geography
- St. Louis University High School (MO)
St. Louis University High School created an innovative Human Geography course incorporating the AP Human Geography curriculum with studies of Ignatian values based on Pope Francis' 'Laudato Si: On Care ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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High Impact Pedagogical Practices for High Impact Sustainability Learning
- Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) (IN)
In the face of a rapidly-changing planet, sustainability is one of the most promising solutions to address social, economic, and environmental problems. Through IUPUI's Themed Learning Community (TLC), 'Sustainability ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Campus Sustainability 101 - A New Course for First Year Students
- DePauw University (IN)
Due to their complex and global nature, modern environmental problems like climate change, water scarcity, or mass extinction events can be overwhelming and really, really scary, especially for college students ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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How Do We Meaningfully Integrate Sustainability Into Global Studies Curricula?
- Champlain College (VT)
As higher education increasingly acknowledges the necessity of producing a globally-engaged student body, it has a responsibility to create a high-quality and relevant global studies curriculum. Former iterations of global ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Advancing Sustainability: Student-led Projects, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Inter-Silo Teamwork
- Carleton College (MN)
Carleton College's study abroad program titled 'Sustainable Energy Principles and Practices in India' exemplifies how higher education institutions can foster experiences and skills that students can use to promote ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Teaching Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship Through Contemporary Art
- Beloit College (WI)
What role can art play in solving current environmental challenges? What should artists do to promote awareness? Is it ethical for artists to make more objects in a world already ...
- Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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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.