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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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Grilled Ciabatta and Muhammara, part of the Spring 2018 Farm to Fork Dinner at Rice University

Farm to Fork Dinner, Spring 2018

  • Rice University (TX)

Rice University student group Real Food Revolution teams with Rice's Housing and Dining department once a semester to host a Farm-to-Fork dinner, featuring a full menu of locally-sourced food ...

UC Irvine Pump2Plug participants have access to over 150 EV chargers on campus.

UC Irvine Pump2Plug Program

  • University of California, Irvine (CA)

University of California, Irvine’s Pump2Plug program facilitates the adoption of zero emission vehicles in Southern California by encouraging faculty and staff commuters to convert from fossil fuel vehicles to ...

Peter the Anteater and a UC Irvine staff member visit the Pump2Plug EV Showcase.

UC Irvine Pump2Plug Program

  • University of California, Irvine (CA)

University of California, Irvine’s Pump2Plug program facilitates the adoption of zero emission vehicles in Southern California by encouraging faculty and staff commuters to convert from fossil fuel vehicles to ...

Local residents decorate pumpkins at Binghamton University's Fall Festival, held at Walnut Street Park. This event is part of the Neighborhood Heritage and Sustainability project supported by Binghamton University's Sustainable Communities Transdisciplinary Area of Excellence and the Division of Student Affairs.

Binghamton University's Neighborhood Heritage and Sustainability Project

  • Binghamton University (NY)

Local residents decorate pumpkins at Binghamton University's Fall Festival, held at Walnut Street Park. This event is part of the Neighborhood Heritage and Sustainability project supported by Binghamton University ...

The University of Dayton places composting and recycling bins outside dining facilities on campus to encourage composting and recycling and diverting “trash” from landfills.

University of Dayton Composting and Recycling Bins

  • University of Dayton (OH)

The University of Dayton places composting and recycling bins outside dining facilities on campus to encourage composting and recycling and diverting “trash” from landfills.

The University of Dayton owns more than 400 residences in its student neighborhood. Launched in fall 2017, the Energy GPA program provides students in University-owned neighborhood housing with a grade for their monthly energy use. Monthly "report cards" include electricity and gas usage and energy saving tips.

University of Dayton Student Neighborhood

  • University of Dayton (OH)

The University of Dayton owns more than 400 residences in its student neighborhood. Launched in fall 2017, the Energy GPA program provides students in University-owned neighborhood housing with a grade ...

Cascadia students and faculty inspire love for native soils on Wetlands Day!

Cascadia students and faculty inspire love for native soils on Wetlands Day!

  • Cascadia College (WA)

Wetland's Day at Cascadia College Using our mobile classroom to teach interested passerby about our complex native soils

Motivating and Quantifying the Impacts of Behavior Change

  • Stanford University (CA)
  • AASHE (MA)

In today’s increasingly technological and individualized world, how do sustainability professionals provide opportunities to engage their audience in a way that is relevant to them, but still quantifies the ...

  • Posted July 19, 2018
  • Videos & Webinars
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Competency Assessment for Responsible Leadership (CARL)

  • AACSB International (FL)

The Competency Assessment for Responsible Leadership (CARL) is a simple, free on-line assessment which builds a profile around 5 competency dimensions (Stakeholder relations; Ethics and values; Self-awareness; Systems thinking; and ...

Electricity and Water Conservation on College and University Campuses in Response to National Competitions among Dormitories: Quantifying Relationships between Behavior, Conservation Strategies and Psychological Metrics

  • New York University (NY)
  • Oberlin College (OH)

“Campus Conservation Nationals” (CCN) is a recurring, nation-wide electricity and water-use reduction competition among dormitories on college campuses. We conducted a two year empirical study of the competition’s effects ...

  • Posted June 29, 2018
  • Publications
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Sustainability leadership programs in higher education: alumni outcomes and impacts

  • University of Michigan (MI)
  • National Wildlife Federation (VA)
  • North Cascades Institute (WA)

The diverse set of college and university sustainability leadership programs, which represent a growing trend in higher education, share a common goal: building skills and knowledge for aspiring environmental and ...

  • Posted June 28, 2018
  • Publications
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Smoothie Bike Promotion

University of Vermont Eco-Reps Greenride Bikeshare Campaign Case Study

  • University of Vermont (VT)

In early April of 2018, Burlington, Vermont, and the University of Vermont campus welcomed Greenride, a pilot regional bikeshare. Though long in the works, there was little student awareness of ...

  • Posted June 28, 2018
  • Case Studies
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Evaluating Changes in Sustainability Culture: A Model for Universities and Other Organizations

  • University of Michigan (MI)

Approaches to evaluating built environments are adaptable to environmentally-related programs. This chapter presents an overview of a multi-year project designed to monitor programs aimed at moving toward a culture of ...

  • Posted June 28, 2018
  • Publications
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Promoting Participation in a Culture of Sustainability Web Survey

  • University of Michigan (MI)

The Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program (SCIP) at the University of Michigan is designed to measure and track the university’s progress (Callewaert and Marans 2017) in moving the campus community ...

  • Posted June 28, 2018
  • Publications
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Inclusive Sustainability: Environmental Justice in Higher Education

  • University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate why and how efforts at UC Santa Cruz have begun to shift from sustainability as a technical, expert-oriented activity focused on aspects ...

  • Posted June 28, 2018
  • Publications
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Making Your Campus A Bee Campus USA Affiliate

  • University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
  • University of Connecticut (CT)
  • AASHE (MA)
  • Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus (OR)
  • The Xerces Society (OR)

While pollinators are imperative for the reproduction of 90% of the world’s wild plant species and three-quarters of crops, announcements of their national and global staggering declines seem relentless ...

  • Posted June 21, 2018
  • Videos & Webinars
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Grappling with Climate Uncertainties: MIT’s Resiliency Approach

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • AASHE (MA)

Heightened awareness from recent extreme weather events and emerging data about current and future climate risks is placing increasing pressure on university campuses to develop processes for enhancing the resilience ...

  • Posted May 31, 2018
  • Videos & Webinars
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Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education

  • Canterbury Christ Church University
  • Manchester Metropolitan University

Sustainability is a complex concept, and the challenge of understanding it and applying it to a diverse, multi-agent, organizational setting with its potentially conflicting priorities cannot be underestimated. Leadership for ...

Reduce the Juice: How to Run a Waste Sprint

  • University of London

This communications plan aims to assist universities that are looking to run residence hall sustainability engagement program. It’s designed for running a waste reduction sprint, but could be used ...

Soka University of America Student Sustainability Committee with mentor Dr. Robert Hamersley. (Left to right: Samikchhya Bhusal, Dr. Robert Hamersley, Prashank Mishra, Lauren Ng)

Initiating STARS at Soka University of America

  • Soka University of America (CA)

In the Spring of 2016, our group of four Sustainability Committee student representatives came together and decided that our primary goal was to succeed in getting our university’s first ...

Project Delta

  • University of Texas at El Paso (TX)
  • Engineers for a Sustainable World (CO)

Project Delta was created by ESW-UTEP to evaluate and enhance The University of Texas at El Paso's (UTEP's) current recycling system. This project is expected to be finalized ...

CSU Zero Waste Symposium engaging students, faculty, staff and community members

Creating a Composting Culture at Colorado State University

  • Colorado State University (CO)

As Colorado State University (CSU) students, many of us were drawn to this school because of its unique ability to institutionalize sustainability. However, during our time here, we have often ...

Project Juarez

  • University of Texas at El Paso (TX)
  • Engineers for a Sustainable World (CO)

When our phones are no longer aesthetically pleasing, we tend to either disregard or throw away our phones. The question is why? Essentially, we are throwing away a small computer ...

Student Run Farm

University of Northern Colorado Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund (Student LEAF)

  • University of Northern Colorado (CO)

Student LEAF is a student driven environmental action fund run by a committee of 7 students advised by one faculty and one facilities staff member.

The mission of Student LEAF ...

Earth Day Flyer

University of Memphis - Green Fee

  • University of Memphis (TN)

The Sustainability Fee, commonly known as the Green Fee, at the University of Memphis, was initiated by students and launched in 2007. The purpose of the fee is to support ...

MEND

  • Princeton University (NJ)

This semester, Princeton's EcoReps launched “Mend Monday,” a bi-weekly clothing repair initiative in Frist Campus Center. Cecilia Shang '18 and Nico Viglucci '17, the group's organizers, believe that ...

#MakeSERCWerc Fundraising Campaign Photo Collage

Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC) at UC Berkeley

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

SERC is a collaborative space to strengthen the collective effectiveness of the sustainability community, and provides resources for students to actualize their vision of a more equitable, socially just, and ...

Sustainability Strategic Planning

  • University of California, Merced (CA)

The University of California Merced (UC Merced) within the next five years will undergo significant infrastructure expansion to accommodate student, faculty and staff growth. The acceleration of the university’s ...

Francis Feast and Learn: Sustainability Teach-In and Local Foods Dinner

  • Loyola University Maryland (MD)

The Francis Feast and Learn is a sustainability teach-in and locally sourced meal, inspired by the life’s work of St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si ...

Ditch the Disposables

  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)

Ditch the Disposables is a WPI student-run campaign that was started in 2016 to reduce single-use plastic items at WPI. The project began with a reusable container program in the ...

One of several puzzles in the building, created by a Hampshire professor; each puzzle references a different tenet of the Living Building Challenge.

R.W. Kern Center- A Living Building

  • Hampshire College (MA)

Located at the heart of Hampshire College campus, the R.W. Kern Center is a multi-purpose facility that embodies the highest threshold of forward-thinking sustainable design: generating its own energy ...

A Joint Student/Staff Eco-Reps Program Led by Students: Swarthmore’s Green Advisors

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

The Green Advisors (GAs) are a growing student group that works to encourage sustainable lifestyles among all Swarthmore community members. The GAs facilitate environmentally-friendly behaviors in the residence halls, oversee ...

Student Conducting Tree Survey

Campus Mapping Project

  • Florida Gulf Coast University (FL)

Florida Gulf Coast University is located on over 300 acres of wetland and upland preserves. Our unique location has led to the values of environmental stewardship, literacy, and service to ...

Visitors consider the Plastic Entanglements exhibition on opening night.

Plastic Entanglements: Ecology, Aesthetics, Materials

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)

The exhibition, PLASTIC ENTANGLEMENTS: Ecology, Aesthetics, Materials was on view at Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art from February 13, 2018 to June 17, 2018 with additional commissioned and ...

UCI's Pump2Plug EV Showcase Dec. 2017

University of California Irvine's PUMP2PLUG Electric Vehicle Adoption Program

  • University of California, Irvine (CA)

The UCI Pump2Plug Electric Vehicle (EV) Adoption Program is widely recognized as the first university incentive program for EV adoption through the replacement of gas-powered vehicles with electric vehicles. With ...

Carbon Neutrality Celebration with Office Staff

American University Achieved Carbon Neutrality Two Years Ahead of 2020 Target

  • American University (DC)

In 2018, American University became the first university, first research university, and first urban higher education campus to achieve carbon neutrality. This major goal was reached two years ahead of ...

Searle Center for Sustainability Innovations Student Intern

Loyola University Chicago Biodiesel Program

  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)

The Biodiesel Program, part of the Searle Center for Sustainability Innovations in Loyola’s Institute of Environmental Sustainability, saw its humble beginnings grow from an ingenious student idea to one ...

Paperbark editorial staff photo outside of the Earth Day Celebration and Preview Party.

Paperbark Literary Magazine

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)

Paperbark Literary Magazine is an interdisciplinary journal of creativity and sustainability publishing art, writing, photography, poetry, science journalism, interviews, and other creative content both in print and online at paperbarkmag ...

PSU Urban Center with Max Train Running Between Two Halves of the Building

Portland State University: Driving Rigorous Sustainability through Top-Level Policies

  • Portland State University (OR)

Portland State University (PSU), situated in the University District of downtown Portland, Oregon, is the only public urban university in the state located in a major metropolitan city. A recognized ...

Departmental Sustainability Mission & Vision Statement -University of Washington Housing & Food Services

  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)

In the academic year 2017-18, Housing & Food Services unveiled its Sustainability Mission & Vision statement. This articulation of the department’s greater commitment to sustainability was the culmination of ...

Transfer student leaves sustainability legacy at UCLA

Introduction to Sustainable Living

  • University of California, Los Angeles (CA)

My proposal for the 2018 Student Sustainability Leadership Award is for a course that I was able to develop at UCLA designed to help students learn knowledge and skills that ...

The first delivery of Campus Farm produce to MDining

University of Michigan Campus Farm and MDining Lead Sustainable Food Movement

  • University of Michigan (MI)

With the first delivery of Campus Farm fresh produce to Mosher Jordan dining hall in the summer of 2017, the University of Michigan’s MDining’s sustainability goal of using ...

Ariel Photo of Construction

University of California Merced 2020 Project

  • University of California, Office of the President (CA)

In 2012, UC Merced launched the “2020 Project”, an initiative to add a significant amount of new teaching, research, housing, recreation and support facilities to the campus that would accommodate ...

Lead Waste Auditor, Martha MacGowan conducting a waste audit

The Nova Scotia Community College’s (NSCC) Waste Management Improvement Project

  • Nova Scotia Community College (NS)

The project began with waste audits to establish a baseline of NSCC’s waste management practices and to try and improve them. From there it progressed into education efforts at ...

Stanford R&DE Student Interns

Stanford R&DE's Student Living Laboratory

  • Stanford University (CA)

Stanford University’s Residential & Dining Enterprises in partnership with students and academic departments have transformed its facilities in to a living laboratory by performing cutting edge research on student ...

The WaterHub at Emory University – Engaging Campus & Community in Water Reclamation

  • Emory University (GA)

The WaterHub at Emory University is an on-site water recycling system, utilizing biomimicry, or engineered processes that emulate natural ecological systems, to reclaim wastewater for heating and cooling buildings and ...

IEN Toolkit: How to Start and Run a Student-Managed SRI Fund

  • Intentional Endowments Network (MA)

The Intentional Endowment Network's (IEN) new resource, titled "IEN Toolkit: How to Start and Run a Student-Managed SRI Fund", was designed to aid in the creation of new student-managed ...

Sustainability in the University Student's Mind: Are University Endorsements, Financial Support, and Programs Making a Difference?

  • University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WI)
  • Purdue University (IN)

Despite the increasing awareness that sustainability is an issue needing ongoing attention, and despite millions of dollars spent yearly at universities to promote sustainable behaviors, previous research has found college ...

How Does Adding an Emphasis on Socioscientific Issues Influence Student Attitudes about Science, Its Relevance, and Their Interpretations of Sustainability?

  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)

A general consensus exists among the leaders of both developed and developing nations that their citizens should be scientifically literate. Therefore, it is important for educational systems to provide students ...

Food waste collected at Gallery dining hall; 2 hours, 160 pounds

Clean Plates at State: Michigan State University

  • Michigan State University (MI)

Michigan State University is continually striving to build a sustainable culture on campus and in the Spartan community. Clean Plates at State helps students and members of our community understand ...

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

EN 2: Student Orientation

EN 3: Student Life

EN 4: Student Life

EN 5: Student Life

EN 6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

EN 7: Employee Educators Program

EN 8: Employee Orientation

EN 9: Staff Professional Development & Training

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Campus Engagement Partners

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