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.
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McGill University's Sustainability Projects Fund
- McGill University (QC)
The Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF) is a crown jewel of McGill University’s sustainability efforts and a best-practice model for universities. The SPF’s main goal is to build a culture of …
- Posted May 19, 2017
- Case Studies
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McGill Students Lobby to Create Climate Officer Position
- McGill University (QC)
In Spring 2016, Management PhD student Amir Nosrat, and other colleagues at the Post-Graduate Students' Society of McGill University, came up with the idea to create a Climate Officer position …
- Posted May 19, 2017
- Case Studies
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Cowbell Cleanup
- Mississippi State University (MS)
Cowbell Cleanup is an initiative that was started by the Office of Sustainability on Mississippi State University's campus. The University faces a large influx of guests during home football games, …
- Posted May 19, 2017
- Case Studies
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The Campus Sustainability Plan: A Community Building Momentum
- University of Saskatchewan (SK)
Progress on campus wide sustainability is not easy. It takes both planning and implementation to realize results. The University of Saskatchewan is realizing results from its Campus Sustainability Plan, developed …
- Posted May 19, 2017
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Community Engaged Scholarship and Learning in Urban Forestry helps UTRGV earn Tree Campus USA Designation
- University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX)
In 2014, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (through its legacy institution UTPA), one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions in the country, proposed and offered three iterations of …
- Posted May 19, 2017
- Case Studies
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Reduce the Juice – Saving Energy in Halls of Residence
- AASHE (MA)
- University of London
At the University of London, in England, we have launched a behaviour change programme aimed at students living on campus in the University’s halls of residence. The aim of the …
- Posted May 18, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
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Johnson County Community College Student Sustainability Committee
- Johnson County Community College (KS)
As a broadly effective, innovative, engaging, and replicable project, Johnson County Community College’s Student Sustainability Committee [the SSC, the Committee] is a compelling and powerful tool for developing student leadership …
- Posted May 18, 2017
- Case Studies
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Watershed UGA: A living laboratory transforming campus and community through teaching, research and service
- University of Georgia (GA)
Watershed UGA created a vision and framework for using the campus as a living laboratory to advance sustainability through teaching, research, public service and outreach, and university operations. We are …
- Posted May 18, 2017
- Case Studies
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The University of Virginia as a Living Lab for Solar Energy
- University of Virginia (VA)
Over the next five years, The University of Virginia hopes to install 1-2 megawatts of solar PV on grounds. To help prioritize projects, UVA turned to the School of Engineering …
- Posted May 18, 2017
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The Ohio State University Sustainability Goals Development Project
- The Ohio State University (OH)
In November 2015, The Ohio State University announced the establishment of sustainability goals to guide the university as it develops durable solutions to the challenges of sustainability and in evolving …
- Posted May 16, 2017
- Case Studies
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Fix It Friday
- Illinois State University (IL)
Fix It Friday is a program in which fashion students set up sewing machines in various places within the Illinois State University campus and the surrounding Bloomington-Normal community and offer …
- Posted May 16, 2017
- Case Studies
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UTA CARES: Open Education and Open Pedagogy for Sustainable Future and Resource Conservation
- University of Texas at Arlington (TX)
Reducing the cost of a college education is a frequent topic in higher education circles. Some colleges and universities such as UT Arlington have been trying to find other ways …
- Posted May 16, 2017
- Case Studies
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GreenApps Eco-Reps Sustainability Leadership and Engagement Course
- Appalachian State University (NC)
The GreenApps: Eco-Reps Program was developed in order to recruit on-campus students to join the Office of Sustainability team to assist with education and promotion of campus sustainability through a …
- Posted May 16, 2017
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Stakeholders’ perception of sustainability orientation within a major Romanian University
Purpose: The research attempts to aim to evaluate the perception that different stakeholder groups have of one of the largest and most important Romanian university with respect to its …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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Greening the campus intentions: a study of the University of the Aegean non-academic staff
Purpose: This study aims to focus on the University of Aegean’s non-academic staff’s environmental sustainability attitudes and behavior both at work and at home, their perceptions for sustainability enforcement …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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A comparative study of the efficacy of intervention strategies on student electricity use in campus residence halls
- Radford University (VA)
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether, and how, electricity consumption by students in university residence halls were impacted through three intervention strategies.
Design/methodology/approach: The …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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Social media for environmental sustainability awareness in higher education
- University of Malaya
Purpose: The explosion of social media use such as Facebook among higher education students is deemed to have great potential in widely disseminating environmental sustainability awareness. The paper aims …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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Zero Waste Guide and the Good Food Festival Case Study
- University of Illinois Chicago (IL)
Throughout the semester, Joe Iosbaker, UIC's Recycling Coordinator and Office of Sustainability (OS) staff member, and Ula Renetskis, Office of Sustainability Intern and author, have been working with Bright Beat …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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Linking Sustainability with Study Abroad
- Delta College (MI)
This project describes the planning, development, and implementation of integrating sustainability into study abroad in existing travel and through establishing new destinations. It also constructs a model that includes a …
- Posted May 15, 2017
- Case Studies
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Campus Sustainability: A Lightbulb Moment | Caitlin Marsh | TED x Alma College
- Alma College (MI)
As a sustainability expert, and Alma College alum, Caitlin opens up the conversation about what sustainability looks like on a college campus. And brings forward fresh implementation ideas.
After pursuing …
- Posted May 15, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
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Questions of Waste
- University of Georgia (GA)
A unique and creative video documenting the waste habits of one student for a week. The video documents a friend of the videographer as she collects her waste for one …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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Integrating Sustainability with Education and Community Engagement at USF
- University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
The University of South Florida's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has created several community and international programs for students to engage in sustainability projects. Three projects explored in the …
- Posted May 15, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
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University Colloquium | Service Learning Project
- Florida Gulf Coast University (FL)
This video was created by students for a colloquium class project to address some of the projects and initiatives FGCU does to decrease our carbon footprint within the energy sector. …
- Posted May 15, 2017
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Sustainability@BU / It's what you do.
- Boston University (MA)
The video from Boston University highlights the impact that each student at BU has on the environment. This includes individual footprints on things like carbon, water, waste, and electricity. After …
- Posted May 15, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
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Leveraging college sports to advance campus sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and community inclusion
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
- AASHE (MA)
- Bonneville Environmental Foundation (OR)
By launching from collegiate sports’ high profile platform, sustainability efforts have the reach to more broadly engage stakeholders on and off campus and enhance sustainable behaviors among fans such as …
- Posted May 15, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
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Sustainability Showcase at Family Earth Day Celebration
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
The CSUN Institute for Sustainability hosted a "sustainability fair" as part of a grant we receive from LADWP. The event was designed to honor students who participated in a program …
- Posted May 11, 2017
- Photographs
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NCSU Initiatives for Faculty Participation in Sustainability Efforts
- North Carolina State University (NC)
This project seeks to understand the perspectives of faculty members as it relates to sustainability at North Carolina State University. Specifically, an online survey of randomly selected 500 faculty was …
- Posted May 11, 2017
- Publications
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PowerZee – Sustainable Change through User Engagement
- Nanyang Technological University
- ENGIE (TX)
PowerZee (formerly PowerZ) is a smartphone application (‘app’) developed by NTU, along with industry partner ENGIE, for energy conservation and sustainability through user engagement. The application fosters knowledge and nudges …
- Posted May 11, 2017
- Case Studies
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NC State University Creates Make-a-thon To Inspire Sustainability Ideas
- North Carolina State University (NC)
Imagine. It's a Saturday night and dozens of students are packed in your school's library. They're crowded around 3D printers, circuit boards and laptops translating 3D AutoCAD designs into real-life …
- Posted May 11, 2017
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Simon Fraser University’s Zero Waste Initiative
- Simon Fraser University (BC)
SFU was one of the first universities to implement a standardized, 4-stream Zero Waste system (including composting) uniformly across all three of its campuses, each of which lies in a …
- Posted May 9, 2017
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EarthFest 2017 at the University of Dayton (Ohio)
- University of Dayton (OH)
- Posted May 9, 2017
- Photographs
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Sustainability Marketing, Messaging and Design for Good at Chemeketa Community College
- Chemeketa Community College (OR)
Chemeketa Sustainability served as a client to the college's Visual Communications program to create cohesive marketing for use in future sustainability campaigns and promotions.
- Posted May 8, 2017
- Case Studies
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Communication Network Among Campus Sustainability Influencers
- Loyola Marymount University (CA)
Systems of all types require efficient communication between its parts and units in order to be successful and effective. It is thus important to understand a system's units in order …
- Posted May 8, 2017
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Using emoticons to encourage students to recycle
- Boston University (MA)
Uncovering inexpensive, simple techniques to encourage students to act in a pro-environmental manner is of critical importance. Through a four-week field study at a large, environmentally focused elementary school, it …
- Posted May 8, 2017
- Publications
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Is Going Green Worth It? Assessing Fan Engagement and Perceptions of Athletic Department Environmental Efforts
- North Carolina State University (NC)
- Ohio University (OH)
- Seattle University (WA)
The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which environmentally themed activities within an intercollegiate sport context impact fan engagement. A total of 557 fans responded to …
- Posted May 3, 2017
- Publications
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San Jose State University Earth Day
- San Jose State University (CA)
- Posted May 3, 2017
- Photographs
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University at Buffalo-Sustainability Month 2017
- University at Buffalo (NY)
At UB, Earth Day is celebrated all month, with dozens of sustainability events highlighting our commitment to critical issues like climate neutrality and publicly funded science.
- Posted May 3, 2017
- Photographs
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Earth Day 2017 - Chemeketa Community College
- Chemeketa Community College (OR)
Students at Chemeketa Community College made paper cranes to represent their vision for a sustainable future and their love for Mother Earth. The paper cranes are going to be on …
- Posted May 3, 2017
- Photographs
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University at Buffalo-Sustainability Month 2017
- University at Buffalo (NY)
At UB, Earth Day is celebrated all month, with dozens of sustainability events highlighting our commitment to critical issues like climate neutrality and publicly funded science.
- Posted May 3, 2017
- Photographs
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Cal Poly SLO Earth Week
- California Polytechnic State University (CA)
Cal Poly hosted a variety of events for Earth Week.
- Posted May 3, 2017
- Photographs
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Alive, Survive, Strive, Thrive: A Grounded Conceptual Sustainability Taxonomy
- Bowling Green State University (OH)
A conceptual sustainability taxonomy has been needed to better communicate the value of sustainability, to align sustainability scholars’ theories and sustainability educators’ practices, and to develop curriculum, teaching, learning, and …
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Publications
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Sustainability Week @ KU Medical Center
- University of Kansas Medical Center (KS)
KU Medical Center Sustainability Week was held to celebrate Earth Day and the one-year anniversary of the revamped recycling program. This included an Earth Day Celebration to share ways to …
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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Suffolk County Community College Earth Week!
- Suffolk County Community College (NY)
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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University at Buffalo-Sustainability Month 2017
- University at Buffalo (NY)
At UB, Earth Day is celebrated all month, with dozens of sustainability events highlighting our commitment to critical issues like climate neutrality and publicly funded science.
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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State University of New York at Cortland Campus Garden Spring Planting
- State University of New York at Cortland (NY)
The SUNY Cortland Campus Garden Advisory Committee (consisting of students, staff and faculty) held a bed preparation and planting party at the campus garden.
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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Cleveland State University EarthFest 2017
- Cleveland State University (OH)
Cleveland State celebrated Earth Day with exhibits from 38 campus and community sustainability organizations, a giant earth dome, a clothing swap, free bike checks, free food, and a range of …
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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Succulents at the Earth Day Expo
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Close-up shot of succulents that were made available for students to plant at the Earth Day Expo at the University of Minnesota. The Office of Sustainability challenged students and staff …
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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University of Virginia Earth Week 2017
- University of Virginia (VA)
Earth Week is a UVA tradition that celebrates the planet we all share. Students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to take part in a thought provoking, action packed …
- Posted May 1, 2017
- Photographs
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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.