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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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No budget? No mandate? No problem! Sustainability from the Inside-out

  • San Mateo County Community College District Office (CA)
  • AASHE (MA)

Establishing a sustainability program is new, exciting and often arduous. Sustainability professionals, especially in higher ed, however, have proven resilient, resourceful and audacious despite lacking resources and organizational buy-in. At …

  • Posted May 21, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Planting in the CVC Butterfly and Edible Garden

Student's Club Revolutionized the Meaning of Green at a Community College!

  • Dallas College (TX)

There was a mayor change at Cedar Valley College’s (CVC) Sustainability Office this academic year. All the Sustainability Awareness events were developed and delivered by the Student’s Green Club. Over …

First-Place winning team of the Greenspace Sustainability Design Make-A-Thon with the Director of Landscape Architecture and Interim UCF President.

Greenspace Sustainability Design Town Halls and Make-A-Thon: A model for empowering campus communities to lead the design of sustainable spaces and places

  • University of Central Florida (FL)

A team of students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) (Orlando, Florida) led a partnership between UCF Student Government, the UCF Office of Sustainability Initiatives, and UCF Landscaping and …

Carbon footprint as an environmental sustainability indicator for a higher education institution

  • University of Haripur (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
  • Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA)
  • International Islamic University (Islamabad)

This study aimed to quantify carbon footprint of the University of Haripur (UoH), Pakistan for one fiscal year (July 2016-June 2017). Primary data was collected through questionnaire surveys, interviews, personal …

The HESFS for higher education funding, employment and sustainability

  • MEF University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a higher education funding and employment system that obviates barriers to sustainable development and helps engrain the notion of sustainability into …

Study to promote the sustainable mobility in university

  • University of Passo Fundo

The United Nations (2030 Agenda) recognize the need to work with sustainable urban mobility problems such as traffic jams, pollution, inadequate infrastructure are becoming recurring issues in urban centers, directly …

Lock-ins and opportunities for sustainability transition: A multi-level analysis of the Flemish higher education system

  • Uppsala University
  • Ghent University

This study aims to provide an overview of sustainability in Flemish higher education (HE) by using the multi-level perspective (MLP) on sustainability transitions for a comprehensive empirical analysis of how …

Framework proposal for the environmental impact assessment of universities in the context of Green IT

  • Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) (GO)

The concept of Green IT refers to sustainable technologies and information systems as well as environmentally friendly IT practices. Universities, which hold responsibility for propagating and applying knowledge, play an …

University Social Responsibility – Good Practices of Polish Higher Education Institutions

  • Gdynia Maritime University (Gdynia)

All organizations, including Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), should be socially responsible. Therefore, the article aims to answer the following research questions: How are the principles of social responsibility implemented by …

The Concept of Sustainability in the Romanian Top Universities’ Strategic Plans

  • Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara

The concept of sustainability has been given more and more attention lately as the effects of climate change drastically impact society and threaten the wellbeing of future generations. In this …

Students’ perceptions of HEI regarding environmental sustainability – a comparative analysis

  • Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (Coimbra)

Purpose This paper aims to compare the environmental sustainability practices at the campus operations between two Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs) at different stages of the implementation of an Eco-School …

STARS: A Student Reports for Duty

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

Project Name: STARS Name: Jasmine Xie Project Mentors: Carr Everbach, Brenna Leary Project Board Members, Faculty Advisor, and Sustainability Sage: Jason Martin, Andy Feick, Pattie Kim-Keefer, Sibelan Forrester, Heather Hassel-Finnegan …

BioMed Engineering Center

Brown University's Thermal Efficiency Project-1

  • Brown University (RI)
  • Ecosystem Energy Services (MA)

Brown University is a 6.5 million sq. ft. research university campus founded in 1764 in Providence, Rhode Island. Its annual energy bill is $20 million.

The campus undertook the Thermal …

Putting sustainability research into practice on the university campus: An example from a Caribbean small island state

  • University of Zurich
  • University of Aruba

Despite increasing efforts to incorporate sustainability in curricula and practices of institutions of higher education, effective implementation remains challenging. The purpose of this study is to present an approach to …

Sustaining a Student-Led Environmental Movement at San Diego State University: Leveraging Collaboration to Create an Environmentally Sustainable Endowment

  • San Diego State University (CA)

As the global economy grows, environmental activists increasingly work towards more environmentally sustainable investing practices, especially at higher education institutions. As Sustainability Commissioner (2019-2020) at San Diego State University (“SDSU” …

Biodiversity in the Campus Landscape: A Meta-Evaluation of Landscape Metrics and Rating Systems

  • Smith College (MA)

In the context of globally dwindling biodiversity, Smith College is in the process of developing a new Landscape Master Plan. This research analyzed approaches to landscape management rating systems and …

Unveiling the path towards sustainability: scientific interest at HEIs from a scientometric approach in the period 2008-2017

  • Carlos III University of Madrid

Humanity has experienced the impact of an unsustainable economic model at all levels. This topic has crystallized in different summits and conferences during the 20th century. As a result of …

Access MIT: A sustainable free ride

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)

In 2016, MIT set out to reduce parking demand on campus by 10 percent over two years with the launch of Access MIT. The program represented a first-of-its-kind, research-based approach …

The James Madison University Student Assessment Initiative

  • James Madison University (VA)

Between 2009 and 2020, JMU implemented a comprehensive collection of student assessments and used the results to significantly advance sustainability efforts. Three question sets were, and continue to be, administered …

Sustainability Activation Program at the University of Dayton

  • University of Dayton (OH)

The Sustainability Activation Program (SAP) is a peer-to-peer education program which takes a holistic and human rights oriented approach to sustainability education on campus and in the community. It began …

Vision 2020 Climate & Sustainability Action Plan (2017-2020)

  • McGill University (QC)

Vision 2020: Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 2017-2020 (hereinafter ‘Vision 2020’ or the ‘Action Plan’)—McGill’s second sustainability strategy and the first to incorporate climate action—institutionalized concrete initiatives to reduce McGill’s …

Transportation Project Final Report

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

Project Name: Transportation Project Project Mentors: Anthony Coschignano and Greg Brown Project board members, faculty advisor, and sustainability sage: Anthony Coschignano, Greg Brown, Chris Kane, Alice Turbiville, Brenna Leary, Rachel …

Infusing Sustainability into the Curriculum at Swarthmore College

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

Note that the full final report for this project is attached as a file at the end of this report. Please view for full in depth explanation of the project …

Emory University’s Virtual Earth Month Outreach Campaign

  • Emory University (GA)

Traditionally, Emory University’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives (OSI) kicks off Earth Month by bringing together both on and off-campus organizations that are dedicated to sustainability for a one-day Earth Festival …

The Development of Critical Success Factors, Benefits and Challenges for Higher Education for Sustainable Development Model (HESD) in Malaysian Public Higher Institutions

  • Universiti Sains Malaysia
  • Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Selangor)
  • Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Perak Darul Ridzuan)

Sustainable development as well as effective practices is important in higher education. Higher education institutions are facing challenges specifically in sustainability. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify …

Sustainability in Brazilian HEI: practices overview

  • Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to verify how Brazilian HEIs apply sustainability practices, as means to improve their effects towards society, making clear to the public, including current …

Sustainable Facilities Management: Interviews with FM practitioners for Malaysian universities

  • Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Sustainability in Facilities Management (FM) is a new approach in managing buildings and may be influenced by practitioners involved within an organisation.Sustainability inthe organisation has a significant impact on organisational …

Knowledge management, the missing piece in the 2030 agenda and SDGs puzzle

  • University of São Paulo

Purpose This paper aims to analyze some knowledge management (KM) frameworks that sustainable development goals (SDGs) can apply to such a challenging implementation.

Design/methodology/approach To accomplish this, a systematic scientific …

Staff Engagement: Embedding Sustainability into Campus Culture and Operations

  • University of Calgary (AB)
  • AASHE (MA)

Empowering staff to become campus sustainability leaders can be challenging. Concerns about time commitment, competing workplace priorities, and support from senior leaders can make working with staff different from engaging …

  • Posted May 14, 2020
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An ISM Approach for the Barrier Analysis in Implementing Green Campus Operations: Towards Higher Education Sustainability

  • Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
  • Lithuanian Sports University/Lietuvos Sporto Universitetas (Kaunas sav.)

Although various initiatives have been undertaken by the universities worldwide to ensure that their campus operates sustainably, there are emergent barriers that pose serious challenges to the practitioners and subsequently …

Strategic Options for Campus Sustainability: Cluster Analysis on Higher Education Institutions in Japan

  • Hokkaido University (Hokkaido)
  • KU Leuven

This study evaluates campus sustainability initiatives in Japanese higher education institutions over the 10-year period since a related important political declaration was made. Our findings show that implementation of sustainability …

The Role of Environmental Management Performance in Higher Education Institutions

  • United Nations University
  • Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden)

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are influential social institutions which educate future decision-makers and shape society as a whole. Motivated by new public management, the proliferation of business tools, and a …

Website communications for campus sustainability: an analysis of Canadian universities

  • Brock University (ON)

Purpose This study aims to better understand the communication of sustainability by Canadian universities, specifically the use of websites, interactive features and sustainability plans.

Design/methodology/approach A total of 95 Canadian …

Bridging Intellectual Capital, Sustainable Development and Quality of Life in Higher Education Institutions

  • University of Beira Interior
  • University of Lisbon

This paper analyses the relationship between the intellectual capital of higher education institutions (HEIs) and their sustainable development practices, and assesses whether higher education institutions’ sustainable development practices are related …

Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

  • Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Madrid)
  • Universidade Aberta
  • Universidade NOVA de Lisboa

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in implementing practices for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This implementation should be done in different dimensions according to a holistic and …

Transportation Plan for Furman University

  • Furman University (SC)

Transportation is a huge part of any university campus, yet systems can be disconnected, funding limited, and students unaware of alternative transit options. A sustainability team of the four student …

The Development of Higher Education for Sustainable Development Model (HESD): Critical Success Factors, Benefits, and Challenges

  • Universiti Sains Malaysia
  • Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Selangor)
  • Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Perak Darul Ridzuan)

The Malaysian government has placed greater emphasis on the sustainable development of higher education institutions during the last decade. Higher education is beginning to include sustainable development concepts in their …

Green Chemistry and Environmental Management Systems: Relationships, Synergies, Advantages and Barriers of Joint Implementation at Universities

  • Universidad San Jorge

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) based on international standard ISO 14001 are recognized as a tool to improve the environment and the sustainability of organizations. Green Chemistry (GC) seeks to reduce …

The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment

  • King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
  • Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (Eastern)
  • Yanbu Industrial College (Eastern)

Sustainability indicators and assessments are vital in promoting campus sustainability. Despite the plethora of indicator frameworks, campus sustainability assessment in developing countries encounters many challenges including lack of, or restricted …

Embedding sustainability within higher education: current commitments, approaches and outcomes in higher educational institutions

  • Anglia Ruskin University

It is increasingly understood that (1) sustainability-related challenges must be urgently addressed, and (2) the role of the Higher Education sector is important in meeting such challenges. Education for Sustainability …

Planning for a Sustainable Future: Rethinking the Role of Bicycle Parking at Western Michigan University

  • Western Michigan University (MI)

Sustainable transportation planning focuses on addressing the needs of current users, without jeopardizing the needs of future users (Black 1997, Richardson 1999, Balsas 2003). A popular mode of sustainable transportation …

Toward Smart City Goals: Promoting Sustainable Commutes among University Students

  • The Ohio State University (OH)

To address persistent concerns regarding anthropogenic impacts on environmental quality that contribute to degradations in natural process and public health, mitigation efforts have increasingly involved the transportation sector. Regional efforts …

The participatory process of planning social and environmental responsibility at a Brazilian university

  • University of Passo Fundo

Universities have an important role in articulation of the transformation of society, in the formation of individuals capable of acting in the processes that enable sustainable development goals (SDGs), in …

Ecological footprint: a tool for environmental management in educational institutions

  • Universidad Icesi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, as few universities have assessed their ecological footprint (EF), a benchmark for Colombian universities is presented. Second, a practical calculation tool …

UVM's Roadmap to Zero Waste

  • University of Vermont (VT)

This senior thesis seeks to provide effective strategies for enhancing Zero Waste management goals at the University of Vermont by incorporating the needs of campus stakeholders. As the global garbage …

Mapping of sustainability policies and initiatives in higher education institutes

  • University of Limerick

Higher Education Institutes are being called upon to integrate sustainable development into their organisation, driven by national and international events, policies and environmental targets. This paper maps sustainability policies and …

Student-led environmental management system in Chiba University

  • Chiba University

Purpose This paper aims to explain the student-led environmental management system (EMS) based on ISO14001 which Chiba University has continued for 15 years. It describes its structure “Chiba University Method”, …

Measuring Up: a Case For Redrawing the System Boundaries of Sustainability At the University of Kentucky

  • University of Kentucky (KY)

The primary goal of this paper is to examine the role that sustainability assessment and reporting plays in creating a sustainable campus for academic excellence. A prototype sustainability assessment and …

Implementation of SDGs at the University of South Africa

  • University of South Africa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how universities can play a pivotal role in implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs). It recognises the advantage that universities have in …

Corporate Governance and Disclosure of Information on Corporate Social Responsibility: An Analysis of the Top 200 Universities in the Shanghai Ranking

  • Universidad de Granada

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its disclosure in the university environment is a topic of current relevance, as it makes the entities’ commitments visible and provides indicators that enable them …

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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