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Coordination & Planning

Introduction

Staff and other resources help an institution organize, implement, and publicize sustainability initiatives. These resources provide the infrastructure that fosters sustainability within an institution. Sustainability planning affords an institution the opportunity to clarify its vision of a sustainable future, establish priorities and help guide budgeting and decision making.

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Carbon footprinting of universities worldwide: Part I—objective comparison by standardized metrics

  • Nanyang Technological University
  • Trier University of Applied Sciences

Background Universities, as innovation drivers in science and technology worldwide, should be leading the Great Transformation towards a carbon–neutral society and many have indeed picked up the challenge. However, only …

Funding Campus Sustainability through a Green Fee—Estimating Students’ Willingness to Pay

  • Manhattan College (NY)

Many higher education institutions promote sustainability by instilling environmental awareness within college students, the innovators of the future. As higher education institutions face budgetary constraints to achieve greener campuses, green …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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Universities’ Reporting on SDGs: Using THE Impact Rankings to Model and Measure Their Contribution to Sustainability

  • Universitat Politècnica de València (Valencia)
  • Polytechnic University of Milan
  • Universitat de València

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have voiced growing concerns about sustainability issues since Agenda 2030 was approved, but this is not enough for societal stakeholders seeking and delivering innovation and excellence. …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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Identifying and addressing reverse salients in infrastructural change. The case of a small zero emission campus in Southern Norway

  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance and use of the concept “reverse salient” in ambitious infrastructural change. Thomas Hughes, in his seminal study of socio-technical …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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A scoping review of policies promoting and supporting sustainable food systems in the university setting

  • University of Sydney (NSW)

Background Transitioning towards sustainable food systems for the health of the population and planet will require governments and institutions to develop effective governance to support the adoption of sustainable food …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Exploring transformative pedagogies for built environment disciplines: the case of interdisciplinarity in low carbon transition

  • Oxford Brookes University

The integration of transformative pedagogies into curricula is recognized as a strategy to deal with the new demands of complexity in learning, which include equipping future professionals with the necessary …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Measuring environmental website communications in Latin American universities: multimodal and ecolinguistic benchmarking

  • Universidad De Alcalá

This paper aims to explore the current state of website environmental communications in Latin American universities through a benchmarking operational tool. The study considers how these universities communicate their environmental …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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A case study on the suitability of STARS for green campus in China

  • Zhejiang University

With the continuous development of China's green campus, its future construction should learn from foreign advanced development experience and achievements. On the one hand, STARS, a global advanced green campus …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Students as change agents for campus sustainability in Malaysian universities

  • University of Malaya

The notion of students as change agents have widely been used in the campus sustainability literature, but very little has been done to unpack what it really means in practice. …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Sustainable economic development in higher education institutions: A global analysis within the SDGs framework

  • Universidad de Almería (Almeria)

Universities must focus their efforts on being economically competitive without harming the chances of being sustainable. The study of sustainable economic development (SED) of higher education institutions (HEIs) has experienced …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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DEI and Social/Environmental Justice Planning at University Sustainability Offices

  • Tufts University (MA)

This document is a memo written by an intern at the Tufts Office of Sustainability. The memo benchmarks 22 institutions of higher learning, noting the plans and initiatives that related …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Which Are the Main Factors Influencing Corporate Social Responsibility Information Disclosures on Universities’ Websites

  • Universidad de Granada

Universities are now becoming more active in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, they do not appear to be granting the same degree of importance to the dissemination …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Developing a Practical Framework of Sustainability Indicators Relevant to All Higher Education Institutions to Enable Meaningful International Rankings

  • University of Limerick

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) sustainability assessments are receiving significant attention in the academic literature, with ever more complex grading and ranking systems being developed. This paper aims to provide national …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Hybrid method for measuring the accessibility and safety of students’ walking routes in car-dominated campuses

  • King Abdulaziz University

Creating a systematic, simple, and inexpensive method to measure walking route accessibility and safety is important for improving walkability in car-dominated university campuses. This study is the first to design …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Community-based climate action planning as an act of advocacy: a case study of liberal arts education in a rural community

  • Colgate University (NY)

The current lack of comprehensive federal climate policy highlights the critical need for effective subnational climate policy and programs. We describe our efforts to create and cultivate a community-based multi-stakeholder …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Exploring the coverage of environmental-dimension indicators in existing campus sustainability appraisal tools

  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Despite the plethora of comprehensive review of campus sustainability assessment tools, reporting, and indicators in the extant literature, studies are absent specifically on campus-wide and spatial-based indicators in existing tools. …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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A Holistic Approach to Integrate and Evaluate Sustainable Development in Higher Education. The Case Study of the University of the Basque Country

  • University of the Basque Country

Since the United Nations (UN) approved the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in 2015, higher education institutions have increasingly demonstrated their commitment by supporting several initiatives. Although a great deal …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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The incoherence of sustainability literacy assessed with the Sulitest

  • Elon University (NC)
  • Northern Illinois University (IL)
  • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)

Improving sustainability knowledge has long been central to international efforts to achieve sustainable development. In response to these efforts, which are formalized in Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Sustainability practices at private universities: a state-of-the-art assessment

  • University of Passo Fundo
  • Universidade Federal de Vicosa
  • College of Charleston (SC)
  • Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
  • University of A Coruña (a Coruña)
  • University of Worcester
  • University of Minho
  • Pompeu Fabra University
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

Private universities also play a key role in the sustainability debate. But despite their importance, there a shortage of research on how sustainability is being implemented at private universities. Based …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Evaluation and Lessons Learned from a Campus as a Living Lab Program to Promote Sustainable Practices

  • University of British Columbia (BC)
  • University of Victoria (BC)
  • Yaşar University

Any group that creates challenging goals also requires a strategy to achieve them and a process to review and improve this strategy over time. The University of British Columbia (UBC) …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Behavioral Strategies To Ditch Desktop Printers

  • AASHE (MA)
  • Root Solutions (CA)

Replacing individual desktop printers with shared ‘multi-function’ printers (MFPs) is one of the most impactful ways campuses can reduce paper use. It also generates a suite of other benefits, including …

  • Posted March 26, 2021
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Mapping the (mis)alignment of HEIs with sustainability

  • AASHE (MA)

This event is part of the AASHE Award Winner Webinar Series, featuring a presentation of the Campus Sustainability Research Award winning project.

Science, technology, and innovation have been recognized as …

  • Posted March 18, 2021
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Green Talks 2019 Presenters

Annual Green Talks Symposium

  • University of California, San Diego (CA)

Green Talks is a TED-style talk symposium specifically geared towards environmental awareness. This annual event aims to engage and educate the UC San Diego student body and broader community about …

  • Posted March 8, 2021
  • Case Studies
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Engage in Climate Solutions: Help Get the Climate Policies We all Need

  • AASHE (MA)
  • Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)

Do your students and staff want to do something more for climate change that creates a large positive impact? The Beyond Doom and Gloom: Climate Solutions initiative is collaborating with …

  • Posted Feb. 24, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
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The carbon footprint of a UK University during the COVID-19 lockdown

  • Bournemouth University (Dorset)

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to compare the carbon intensity of higher education delivered on- and off-campus. This is attributed to governmental lockdown orders that have forced …

  • Posted Feb. 19, 2021
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Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG): What Is Wrong with ESDGs, and What Can We Do Better?

  • The Hague University of Applied Science

This article will discuss social, environmental, and ecological justice in education for sustainable development (ESD) and Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG). The concept of sustainable development and, by extension, …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
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Unthinking knowledge production: from post-Covid to post-carbon futures

  • Durham University

The past years have witnessed a growing awareness of the role of institutions of knowledge production in reproducing the global climate crisis, from research funded by fossil fuel companies to …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
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Are distance higher education institutions sustainable enough? – A comparison between two distance learning universities

  • Universidade Aberta
  • University of Beira Interior
  • Universidad de Granada
  • Madrid Open University

Universities are continually transforming its structure and governance in response to the new social, environmental and economic challenges. Particularly, there has recently been a growing academic interest for measuring sustainable …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
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Green University and academic performance: An empirical study on UI GreenMetric and World University Rankings

  • University of Huddersfield
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi

The role of higher education institutions in promoting environmental sustainability is not limited to research activities but also covers improving their campus infrastructure into a more environment-friendly setting as well …

  • Posted Feb. 17, 2021
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Drivers for Universities’ Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Analysis of Spanish Public Universities

  • University of Zaragoza

Universities have a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both for implementing active policies and for encouraging other actors to participate. This requires having the skills and …

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
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COVID-19, sustainable development and higher education: towards a recovery path

  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

This paper aims to outline the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to universities and how they may react.

  • Posted Feb. 10, 2021
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The Library as a Campus Sustainability Hub: A Case Study in Increasing Community Engagement & Collaboration in Sustainability through Academic Libraries

  • Binghamton University (NY)

As the topic of sustainability becomes more relevant to all types of libraries, two academic science librarians share a case study on identifying and filling gaps in sustainability-related engagement, education, …

Collegiate athletics environmental sustainability efforts within STARS reporting

  • Texas A&M University (TX)
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

The purpose of this paper is to examine higher education institutions’ participation in association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education’s (AASHE’s) Green Athletics category in the sustainability tracking, …

Unaligned connections or enlarging engagements? Tertiary education in developing countries and the implementation of the SDGs

  • University College London (London)

Given that tertiary education (TE) is a sector often associated with exclusion, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where only a small proportion of the population gain access, how …

Universities and Multistakeholder Engagement for Sustainable Development: A Research and Technology Perspective

  • Università degli Studi di Torino
  • Politecnico di Torino

If we have any hope of achieving sustainability, we, as researchers, need to develop a new perspective on universities and multistakeholder engagement. Stakeholder theory teaches us that engaging stakeholders in …

Assessing the Development of Key Competencies in Sustainability

  • Arizona State University (AZ)

Making significant progress on the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) needs change agents equipped with key competencies in sustainability. While thousands of sustainability programs have emerged at various educational levels …

Sustainability in Higher Education: What More Can Universities Do?

  • QS Quacquarelli Symonds

This report details the key findings from the QS Environmental Concerns Survey conducted in August 2019. The survey - which was completed by more than 3,700 prospective international students looking …

Investigating the impact of problem-oriented sustainability education on students’ identity: A comparative study of planning and liberal arts students

  • Erasmus University Rotterdam

This study uses a grounded theory lite approach to investigate the changes in identity of planning and liberal arts students who studied sustainability in a problem-oriented environment. It was found …

SDGs Report 2019

  • National University of Sciences and Technology (Federal)

Realizing the importance of United Nations 17 SDGs, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) , Pakistan has adopted UN SDGs framework to monitor and improve the impact of contribution …

The promotion of sustainable development in higher education institutions: top-down bottom-up or neither?

  • Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the sustainability approach within higher education institutions. Universities, as institutions of knowledge, play an important and strategic role in maximizing social and economic benefits …

Promoting sustainable development in higher education institutions: the use of the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system in support of green marketing

  • Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina

Purpose Sustainability is understood as a complex and integrating area, involving the most diverse areas and fields of knowledge. Because of the innumerable socio-environmental challenges in the current scenario, a …

The Ethical and Ecological Limits of Sustainability: A Decolonial Approach to Climate Change in Higher Education

  • University of British Columbia (BC)

This article offers decolonial critique of the ethical and ecological limits of mainstream sustainability efforts in higher education. Colonialism is identified as the primary cause of climate change, and the …

Seeking impact of medical schools on health: meeting the challenges of social accountability

  • University of British Columbia (BC)

Context The acquisition of sums of knowledge and mastery of sophisticated technologies by medical graduates is insufficient for their responsibilities to recognise and adapt to people's evolving needs.

Response A …

Why use indicators to measure and monitor the inclusion of climate change and environmental sustainability in health professions’ education?

  • Bond University (Queensland)
  • The University of Notre Dame Australia (WA)

Currently, health professionals are inadequately prepared to meet the challenges that climate change and environmental degradation pose to health systems. Health professions’ education (HPE) has an ethical responsibility to address …

Decarbonising academia: confronting our climate hypocrisy

  • University of Otago (Otago)
  • University of Surrey

Academia is generally carbon intensive. Many academics are highly aeromobile to an extent that is now being framed as a form of ‘climate hypocrisy’. Technological advances are not enough to …

Putting sustainable campuses into force: Empowering students, staff and academics by the self-efficacy Green Office Model

  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Purpose The lack of change structures can be seen as an important reason why sustainability continues to suffer a niche existence in most higher education organisations. This is a problem …

Governing the university in the perspective of the United Nations 2030 Agenda: The case of the University of Bologna

  • Università di Bologna

Purpose Starting from the experience of the University of Bologna, this paper provides an innovative framework to analyse how universities are rethinking courses and curricula, teaching, research programmes, campus operation …

When Legitimacy Shapes Environmentally Responsible Behaviors: Considering Exposure to University Sustainability Initiatives

  • Emory University (GA)
  • Oberlin College (OH)
  • University of Chicago (IL)

This study examines how perceptions of the legitimacy of university sustainability efforts—support by the administration (authorization) or from students’ peers (endorsement)—as well as the physical context in which students live, …

State-of-the-art practices being reported by the PRME champions group: A reference to advance education for sustainable development

  • São Paulo School of Business Adminstration (FGV EAESP)

This study aims to offer a diagnostic of the “state-of-the-art” practices being reported throughout the Sharing Information Process (SIP) by the Champions Group, a group of schools that are signatories …

Intersectional Sustainability and Student Activism

  • Southwestern University (TX)
  • AASHE (MA)

In recent decades, universities have made significant progress toward environmental sustainability and have likewise tightened their budgets and restructured economic models in the name of financial sustainability. However, institutions of …

  • Posted Feb. 4, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
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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.

PA 1: Sustainability Coordination

PA 2: Sustainability Coordination

PA 3: Sustainability Coordination

PA 4: Reporting Assurance

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

Coordination & Planning Partners

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