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.
Featured Resources
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
Recapturing the learning opportunities of university sustainability indicators
- Tulane University (LA)
Reconfiguring student involvement in university sustainability assessments and reporting can create important learning opportunities. In the 1990s, students conducted campus environmental audits and assessments, which were often the first step …
- Posted March 29, 2018
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Sustainability is Central-Volume III 2012-2015
Biennial report of the comprehensive, campus-wide sustainability program at Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan. This report summarizes all sustainability actions on campus and provides quantitative data on carbon footprint …
- Posted March 29, 2018
- Publications
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Achieving Sustainability in the City of Winona, Minnesota (USA): A Case-Study
- Winona State University (MN)
The City of Winona is a small urban center (27,000 people) in southeastern Minnesota. Located along the Mississippi River, the city is nestled below steep bluffs that limit further urban …
- Posted March 29, 2018
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Making the Most of AASHE's New Campus Sustainability Hub
- AASHE (MA)
AASHE is excited to announce the release of the Campus Sustainability Hub, an online resource library that allows AASHE members to connect, share and learn about sustainability in higher education. …
- Posted March 27, 2018
- Videos & Webinars
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Engaging Across Boundaries: The Power of Civic Engagement in Sustainability
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
- Portland Community College (OR)
- AASHE (MA)
- Campus Compact (MA)
Speakers will offer an introduction to the broader concept of civic engagement and will share experiences, best practices, models and frameworks:
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in setting up a a multiple semester student engagement …
- Posted March 27, 2018
- Videos & Webinars
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Educating for Sustainability Webinar Series - Strategies for Institutionalizing Sustainability in the Curriculum
- Dickinson College (PA)
- University of Hawaii Kapiolani Community College (HI)
- AASHE (MA)
This webinar provides a broad and diverse perspective on the topic from a panel which includes: Krista Hiser & Bob Franco - Kapiolani Community College and Lindsey Lyons - Dickinson …
- Posted March 20, 2018
- Videos & Webinars
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Educating for Sustainability Webinar Series - Introduction to Sustainability in the Curriculum and STARS (It's more than science)
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
- AASHE (MA)
- Creative Change Educational Solutions (MI)
This webinar offers participants resources and tools on how to develop a framing of sustainability that moves beyond science to address its economic and social equity dimensions. Participants will identify …
- Posted March 20, 2018
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AASHE Award Winner Webinar Series: The Form and Function of the Sustainability Agenda in Higher Education Institutions - Hawaii Approach to Sustainable Living On and Off-campus
- University at Albany (NY)
- University of Hawaii Kauai Community College (HI)
- AASHE (MA)
Colleges adapt to new circumstances based on differing motivations: some are seeking new growth strategies while others are trying to avoid decline. Sustainability initiatives provide an opportunity to analyze how …
- Posted March 12, 2018
- Videos & Webinars
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Becoming a Certified Sustainable Resource Management Professional
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
- AASHE (MA)
Watch this webinar to gain an understanding of what proficiencies are expected as a certified sustainable resource management professional. This webinar will explore opportunities for certification in sustainable resource management …
- Posted March 12, 2018
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From "To Do" to "Done": Project Management for the Sustainability Professional
- Indiana State University (IN)
- AASHE (MA)
Making sustainability happen on your campus requires a wide variety of skills. You may know all of the current best practices for conservation and efficiency, but – especially if you’re …
- Posted March 12, 2018
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Key Performance Indicators to optimize the environmental performance of Higher Education Institutions with environmental management system – A case study of Universitat Politècnica de València
- Universitat Politècnica de València (Valencia)
Key Performance Indicators are typically a component of economic and financial decision-making. Defining Key Performance Indicators for relevant environmental aspects of an institution can be seen as a step toward …
- Posted March 12, 2018
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Higher Education Institutions in the United States: Commitment and coherency to sustainability vis-à-vis dimensions of the institutional environment
- Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
This work proposes a cohesive approach to assess the degree of commitment and institutional coherence of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the United States to address the challenges posed by …
- Posted March 12, 2018
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2017 Guide to Business Schools for Social and Environmental Impact
- Net Impact (CA)
The information in the 2017 Guide to Business Schools for Social and Environmental Impact (formerly Business as UNusual) was compiled from an online survey completed by almost 2,000 students. This …
- Posted March 9, 2018
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Universities and Conflict The Role of Higher Education in Peacebuilding and Resistance
This book uses a series of case studies to examine the roles played by universities during situations of conflict, peacebuilding and resistance.
While a body of work dealing with the …
- Posted March 9, 2018
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Environmental sustainability practices in South Asian university campuses: an exploratory study on Bangladeshi universities
- University of Waterloo (ON)
- University of Chittagong
Environmental sustainability practices in universities can play an important role in helping society form a sustainable future. In this study, the roles that Bangladeshi universities play in terms of sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 28, 2018
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Environmental sustainability of universities: critical analysis of a green ranking
- University of Trento (Trentino)
Today, the principles of sustainability and sustainable development represent key points in policy development and activities of the Higher Education Institutions, both for their impact on the environment and the …
- Posted Feb. 28, 2018
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Climate Resilience Planning and Organizational Learning on Campuses and Beyond: A Comparative Study of Three Higher Education Institutions
- Boston University (MA)
- Cornell University (NY)
- Smith College (MA)
Higher education institutions around the world are confronting challenges associated with climate change, and many are trying to model practices that support climate change mitigation and resilience. This work initiates …
- Posted Feb. 28, 2018
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An aggregated and dynamic analysis of innovations in campus sustainability
- Smith College (MA)
Purpose: This paper aims to compose a systematic understanding of campus sustainability innovations and unpack the complex drivers behind the elaboration of specific innovations. More precisely, the authors ask …
- Posted Feb. 28, 2018
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Beacons, Not Towers: How Higher Education Can Help Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
- United Nations University
Higher education is often idealized as a tool for implementing sustainable development. Yet the structures of higher education institutions (HEIs) often inhibit the types of problem solving and pedagogical design …
- Posted Feb. 22, 2018
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Environmental justice frameworks in student affairs assessment practice
- University of Georgia (GA)
Assessment and evaluation of programs are core components of ethical professional practice for student affairs administrators in higher education. This paper reviews three environmental frameworks and applies the Just sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 20, 2018
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Enhancing environmental management in universities through participation: the case of the University of Córdoba
- Universidad de Córdoba
This article illustrates the methodology for a participatory process that encourages the campus community to help improve the environmental management of their institution, as an example of the effective integration …
- Posted Feb. 20, 2018
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Reporting for Sustainability: Guidance for Higher Education Institutions
- Forum for the Future
Universities and colleges are already under scrutiny from a wide range of stakeholders, from prospective students to staff and government agencies. They are also being pressed to report on how …
- Posted Feb. 15, 2018
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Critical success factors for embedding carbon management in organizations: lessons from the UK higher education sector
- De Montfort University
- Nottingham Trent University
Organizations are under increasing pressure from governments and stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions from their business operations for climate change mitigation. Universities are not exempt from this challenge and are …
- Posted Feb. 15, 2018
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Leveraging Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education Institutions— A Multidimensional Research Agenda
- University of Hildesheim
Sustainability has become increasingly important to research and practice. In order to determine impacts, identify improvement potential and to disclose efforts towards sustainability, an organization needs appropriate reporting. Thus, sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 15, 2018
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Barriers to innovation and sustainability at universities around the world
- University of Michigan (MI)
- University of São Paulo
- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS
- James Cook University (Queensland)
- University of Nottingham
- Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
- University of Passo Fundo
This paper explores the link between innovation and sustainability in the context of higher education, with the purpose of investigating the fundamental barriers for innovation and sustainable development in universities …
- Posted Feb. 12, 2018
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Assessing sustainability reports of US universities
- University of Hamburg
The purpose of this study is to assess sustainability reports of US universities to provide findings on the relative importance of disclosure topics. The authors conducted content analysis by using …
- Posted Feb. 8, 2018
- Publications
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Put Your Best Report Forward: STARS Data Quality Boot Camp
- AASHE (MA)
Gain the tools you need to submit a high-quality STARS report in time for the Princeton Review and Sierra sharing deadline! Every STARS 2.1 report undergoes a standard collaborative …
- Posted Feb. 8, 2018
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Analysing the literature on university social responsibility: A review of selected higher education journals
- University of Cadiz
In the last 30 years, different economic, political and social changes have taken place in the university sector and this has led to an extensive reform to meet the new …
- Posted Feb. 8, 2018
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A Competency Model for Management Education for Sustainability
Management education needs transformation to avoid socio-economic volatility in this globalised world and to deal with the crises of responsibility and sustainability. Despite rising demand and increasing popularity, management education …
- Posted Feb. 5, 2018
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A Strategic Communication Model for Sustainable Initiatives in Higher Education Institutions
- MacEwan University (AB)
Communicating sustainable initiatives in higher education institutions presents a challenge, given that few to no universities possess or maintain a strategic communication plan that addresses the need to share this …
- Posted Feb. 5, 2018
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University Sustainability: Assessing College Sustainability Rating Systems
- Yale University (CT)
This paper seeks to assess the three major university sustainability rating systems in the United States on their ability to drive positive sustainability outcomes. Since the mid-2000s the Association for …
- Posted Feb. 5, 2018
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Integrating Sustainability Philosophy into Business Curriculum
- St. Thomas University (FL)
- Westcliff University (CA)
This paper examines the status of sustainability integration in business schools and colleges as part of business education and training - curriculum. The authors argue that there is a need …
- Posted Feb. 5, 2018
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Don’t Get Left Out: Navigating New Processes for Sharing STARS Data with Sierra and Princeton Review
- AASHE (MA)
- Sierra Club (DC)
- The Princeton Review (MA)
Since 2012, AASHE has collaborated with Sierra magazine and The Princeton Review to allow colleges and universities to use the STARS Reporting Tool to share their sustainability data for potential …
- Posted Jan. 25, 2018
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Energy planning of university campus building complex: Energy usage and coincidental analysis of individual buildings with a case study
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Zhejiang University
- Nanjing University of Science & Technology
As the demonstration of eco-communities, energy planning becomes more and more important for university campus. However, insufficient energy use data accumulation has been a significant barrier against fully understanding of …
- Posted Dec. 22, 2017
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An Analysis of STARS as a Sustainability Assessment System Universally Usable in Higher Education
- Technische Universiteit Delft
Sustainability assessment has become an important tool for measurement of higher education institutions. Although there are many potential tools for measuring an institutions’ level of sustainability, this paper explores the …
- Posted Dec. 13, 2017
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Research on the suitability improvement of the standard of green campus in China based on STARS
- Zhejiang University
Under the tide of green building, many countries introduce actively evaluation standards of green campus and develop the construction of green campus. China introduced the Green Campus Evaluation Standards (CSUS …
- Posted Dec. 13, 2017
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Modeling Factors with Influence on Sustainable University Management
- University of Trento (Trentino)
- Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu
The main objective of this paper is to present the factors with influence on the sustainable university management and the relationships between them. In the scientific approach we begin from …
- Posted Dec. 13, 2017
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Emerging dimensions of sustainability in institutes of higher education in India
- Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
The institutions of higher education provide role models for excellence in education. But also have the added responsibility of providing guidance to the community for social upliftment and environmental sustainability. …
- Posted Dec. 12, 2017
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Ecoversity: the potential for sustainable development to reshape university culture and action
- Bradford University (West Yorkshire)
This paper describes an institutional strategy (Ecoversity) to embed sustainable development across the full range of university activities and services and reflects on two different phases of Ecoversity providing illustrations …
- Posted Dec. 11, 2017
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Universities as sustainable communities: a prospectus for people and places
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of universities as sustainable communities and to identify the requirements for achieving this role. The paper outlines the evolution of …
- Posted Dec. 11, 2017
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Significant Role of Universitas Indonesia GreenMetric World University Rankings on Supporting Sustainable Campus
- University of Indonesia
The GreenMetric World University Ranking is an initiative of Universitas Indonesia (UI) to promote sustainability at universities, including education for sustainability, and relevant policies and programmes for behaviour change. The …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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Bee Campus USA: Making the World Safer for Pollinators, One Campus at a a Time
- The Xerces Society (OR)
Pollinators are responsible for 1 in 3 bites of food we consume-actually, the most nutritious and, some say, delicious bites! Equally important, pollinators are responsible for the reproduction of 90% …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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Networks as a Tool for Social Change
- Power Shift Network (DC)
Mass social change requires mass, popular social movements that are aided by the support of a vast network of change makers. Decentralized networks, in particular, are well suited to catalyze …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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Success Stories: Community Colleges Tools for Achieving Energy Efficiency
- Entegrity (AR)
This poster will graphically depict the steps two community colleges took to achieve energy efficiency goals on their campuses. Community college budgets and staff are often stretched more than larger …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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Student-Driven Climate Outcomes: A Liberal Arts College's Journey in Energy/Sustainabiity
- Entegrity (AR)
This poster tells a story about students that were the drivers of bringing a focused engagement to their campus to achieve climate goals. The students researched initiatives at other campuses …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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Green the Greeks at Florida Gulf Coast University
- Florida Gulf Coast University (FL)
An in depth guide to creating and implementing a sustainability program focused on Greek organization involvement in a public university. Topics will include establishment, data recording, participation, roadblocks, collaborating with …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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The Internet of Things (IoT) and the Student Experience: Sustainability by Design
- The Sextant Group (PA)
Every day we hear of a new technology that is Internet-connected, enabled, enhanced! If they can afford it, college students are eager first adopters of these gadgets and their applications. …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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How to achieve Silver in STARS and not die trying?
- Universidad de Monterrey
Sustainability is something quite new in universities in Latin America, specifically in Mexico. Since the launch of STARS as a pilot in 2011 our university decided we wanted to be …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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A New Way to Benchmark Your Sustainable Purchasing Program
- Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (MA)
The members of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council have collaborated to produce a Benchmarking System for evaluating the maturity of Sustainable Purchasing Programs. The new tool is being used by …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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Techniques to Foster Interpersonal Competences
- Nanyang Technological University
Interpersonal Competences (ICs) are vital for sustainability change agents. Evidence shows that ICs are also highly-prized career skills. A student with strong ICs can productively interact and empathize with collaborators …
- Posted Dec. 1, 2017
- Conference Presentations
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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
- Description of the sustainability committee(s)
- Description of the sustainability office(s)
- Description of activities and accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years
- First sustainability position (upload)
- First sustainability position (text)
- Second sustainability position (upload)
- Second sustainability position (text)
- Third sustainability position (upload)
- Third sustainability position (text)
- Website URL - Sustainability Coordination
PA 2: Sustainability Coordination
- Published measurable objectives - Academics
- Published measurable objectives - Engagement
- Published measurable objectives - Operations
- Published measurable objectives - Planning & Administration
- Website URL - Highest Guiding Strategic Plan
- Sustainability plan (upload)
- Sustainability plan (website URL)
- Website URL - Sustainability planning
PA 3: Sustainability Coordination
- Description of participatory or shared governance bodies
- Percent of official members of the highest governing body that are women
- Website URL - Institution’s highest level governing body
- Description of campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions
- Website URL - Institutional governance body
PA 4: Reporting Assurance
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.