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
Finding Solutions through Cycles of Hope
- Portland Community College (OR)
Knowledge is a powerful thing but it also can be debilitating, leading to cynicism and apathy. This is especially the case when we teach about topics like environmental crises and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Leadership for a Sustainable Community
- Lane Community College (OR)
- SRG Partnership, Inc (WA)
- Solarc Architecture & Engineering Inc. (OR)
Lane Community College, SRG Partnership and SOLARC combined leadership to provide a prototype for sustainable neighborhood development. Transforming a vacant site adjacent to Eugene, Oregon’s main library and public transportation …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Strength Training the Social and Human Capital Muscle
- Green Mountain College (VT)
A sustainability movement is only as strong as the community muscle behind it, including a community’s ability to work together to solve problems and be resilient in the face of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
STARS Introductory Workshop: Learning the Basics of Completing a Comprehensive Campus Sustainability Assessment (2014)
- Central New Mexico Community College (NM)
- Florida Gulf Coast University (FL)
- Loyola University Chicago (IL)
- AASHE (MA)
This workshop will focus on sharing basic information about the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Program created by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Cornerstone of Sustainability: Implementing an Efficiency Master Plan
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
- Smith College (MA)
- ERS (MA)
Across the nation, campuses striving for leadership on sustainability and climate change need to make energy efficiency the cornerstone of their efforts. The first step to achieving every aspect of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Implementing Campus Sustainability in an Age of Transparency
- University of Kansas (KS)
- Staples Business Advantage (MA)
- Prairie Paper Ventures Inc. (BC)
We’re in the age of information and accessibility, making it easy for the education community to find information quickly and easily. This has led to increased awareness regarding university practices, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sustainability on a Grand Scale: Large University Networking
- Texas A&M University (TX)
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
Large universities (e.g., 20,000 or more students) face unique challenges when it comes to implementing sustainability. Whether it is making a stadium that seats 100,000 zero waste, hosting a move-out …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Breaking Down the Silos – Lessons Learned from a Campus wide Behavior Change Program
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
With a campus of roughly 19,000 students and 2,500 faculty and staff, the Green NAU Energy Initiative (GNEI) has taken on the challenge of augmenting an $18 million dollar energy …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Transformation from the Inside Out: Integrating Sustainability Into Unit Level Planning
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
Penn State’s Sustainability Institute (SI) led an unprecedented effort this academic year to integrate sustainability into every unit. With 24 campuses, 12 academic colleges and 11 major support units serving …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Liberate your Literacy: How Sustainability & Social Justice Interact
- Portland State University (OR)
Ecoliteracy pioneers Stone & Barlow (2014) emphasize that creating social change requires resilient relationships within the larger ecological and social community. However, we are born into a society in the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
How a Mid-Scale University Can Have a Large-Scale Impact
- Appalachian State University (NC)
The Renewable Energy Initiative (REI) at Appalachian State University was founded in 2004 by a group of 7 graduate students. At the time, a fee of 5$ per student per …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Modeling Equity Through Collaboration: A Co-Directed Office
- Connecticut College (CT)
The typical hierarchical structure of any office or department at a college or university has one leader with a chain of responsibility and reporting running down from that person. For …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Managing Campus Politics to Build a Sustainability Coalition
- DePauw University (IN)
On many campuses, energy and initiative for sustainability efforts begins with faculty and students. The path forward from that initial enthusiasm inevitably requires collaboration with senior administration and, given the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Facilitation In Action: How to cultivate group consensus that matters
- GreenerU (MA)
One of the most important, yet often understated skills of any profession is the ability to be a strong group facilitator. Whether it is a small internal meeting with staff …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Capturing and Managing data with shoestring staffing and funding
- Macalester College (MN)
In today’s age, data surrounds us. Sustainability offices are increasingly expected to collect and manage data in order to inform students, staff and faculty about progress towards sustainability goals; however, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Playbook: Systems Thinking for Sustainability Initiatives
- Portland State University (OR)
Ideally, sustainability is infused throughout an university—from operations to curriculum. Different people hold different pieces of the puzzle that, when put together, create a whole picture that is greater than …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Educating for Sustainability: A Solution to Student Retention?
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (IL)
In the current climate of increased governmental oversight of higher education and fiscal downturns, increased scrutiny is being paid to retention and graduation rates as markers of an institution’s success. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Tying Together Tradition and Core Values to Share Your Message and Foster Connections
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Your institution has unique attributes that help define your organizational culture. Understanding this culture can be a critical key ingredient to help spread your sustainability message. This session will demonstrate …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Regenesis: Cultivating Change through the Campus ’Perennials’
- York University
As noted by Ackerman et. al. (2011), sustainability initiatives on campus typically either take a "top-down" or "bottom-up" approach. Top-down approaches involve administrators who create plans and policies and then …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The University North Carolina’s System-Wide Energy Initiative
- Appalachian State University (NC)
The 2014 Appalachian Energy Summit is the third annual gathering for the University of North Carolina Energy Leadership Challenge. Through this ongoing, year-round initiative, campus leaders from across higher education …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
What Are We Advancing? Advancing Sustainability in Higher Education: Integration of the University and College Development Office
- California Polytechnic State University (CA)
The pressing need to develop more financially, environmentally and socially sustainable institutions creates an opportunity to advance the next philanthropic era in higher education – one that promotes a more …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Training: EcoDistricts for Practitioners
- EcoDistricts (OR)
EcoDistricts for Practitioners is a half-day training session that gets you prepped to start remaking cities from the neighborhood up. Ecodistricts comprise the best thinking on urban equity, sustainability and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Disruptive Sustainability: Core Business Integration of Sustainability
- Harvard University (MA)
’Disruptive sustainability’ is this potential for unleashing incredible new human potential for transforming everything we create. In the business space it gets framed in terms of a technological or business …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Executive Education for Disruptive Sustainability
- Harvard University (MA)
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability of Higher Education (AASHE) presents Leith Sharp from Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, in collaboration with the Center for Green …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Levers For Change: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Organizational Change
- Linfield College (OR)
Often times sustainability is relegated to the pigeonhole of environmentalism. At Linfield College, an interdisciplinary partnership between two sociology courses and a business course found common ground in sustainability through …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Product Based Sustainability Framework for Universities
- North Carolina A&T State University (NC)
The transformation of a University towards sustainable development requires a paradigm shift from an activity based focus to a product based focus. In an activity based focus, several projects are …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Using Competencies in the Design and Assessment of Sustainability Programs
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
At Penn State University, the Sustainability Leadership Minor has been administered using a list of sustainability and leadership competencies that are the basis of the expectations of the program. Now, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Time is money: accounting for the true cost of a campus waste initiative
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
Universities across the country are developing and implementing campus sustainability initiatives. Such initiatives may be designed to save money or reduce waste, or they may have more intangible goals related …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The “Three Es” of Sustainability Portland Style
- Portland State University (OR)
This is a three-part poster presentation with each poster (24” x 36”) representing one of the “three Es” of sustainability: Environmental, Economic, and Equity, as can be viewed locally in …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Cross-institutional collaboration for compost on an urban campus
- Portland State University (OR)
Implementing an effective composting program on any campus is difficult. Common issues that may arise are public buy-in, infrastructure, information accessibility, and contamination. Appreciating the context of a new compost …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Pathways to Leadership: Sustainability & Career Development
- Princeton University (NJ)
As college students increasingly aspire toward careers that allow them to make a difference in the world, campus sustainability programs are uniquely positioned to provide enduring student leadership and career …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Measure That! Integrating Sustainability into your Institutional Assessment
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Institutions across the county depend on their status as accredited organizations. While the accrediting agencies are not yet requiring schools to engage in sustainability, our institution looked for a way …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Graduating Global Stewards: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis
- The Ohio State University (OH)
For my research, I am arguing that institutions of higher learning are important sites for sustainability, as they can propel the overall national and international agenda towards renewable energy and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Developing a sustainability focused campus against all odds
- University of Northern Colorado (CO)
Institutions of Higher education can be the most conservative of places in which to get sustainability established. While passion and enthusiasm abound throughout a campus, getting all the different stakeholders …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Maintaining Sustainability (and your Sanity): A Systems Approach
- URS Corporation (MD)
University campuses are analogous to small cities, military installations, and in some cases, industrial facilities. The diverse operations and activities include research laboratories, conference centers and lodging, art studios, cafeterias, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Why Math Is Important - Separating the Wheat from the Chaff
- Florida State University (FL)
How do we understand the impacts of our decisions? Most of us want our lives to reflect our sustainable values. We want our efforts to make a difference. We want …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Data 101: Measuring What You Manage
- American University (DC)
What are the most important things to measure on my campus? What pieces of information can help me report to the most outlets? How can I use the data that …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Harnessing the social change model: A strategy for deeper sustainability engagement
- University of Calgary (AB)
This poster uses the social change model to promote sustainability engagement. It describes the individual values, group values, and community values of the social change model and outlines how these …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Planning and Managing the Urgent Implementation of Sustainability at a West African University
- American University of Nigeria (Adamawa,)
Since its founding in 2005, American University of Nigeria (AUN’s) has increasingly committed itself to development, specifically to advance economic, social, and environmental conditions in its host community and beyond. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Twelve years of campus sustainability at Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México
- Universidad Iberoamericana, A.C. (DF)
Ibero Campus Verde (ICV) is the given name of Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de Mexico’s environmental management system. Its action plan includes several policies, activities, goals and performance indicators that promote …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Establishing Sustainable Urban Communities: HBCU Experiences as Learning Models
- Clark Atlanta University (GA)
Sustainable Community Development
“Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
- United Nations World Commission on Environment and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sustainability: A Solution to Student Retention
- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (IL)
Recent statistics from The Princeton Review indicate that 69 percent of college applicants now cite an institution's level of commitment to environmental sustainability as a factor in their college choice, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Comprehensive Campus-wide Water Management Plan
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
As a campus, we are committed to sustainable growth in order to improve the human condition. Sustainable water management has become a critical issue for the region, which has struggled …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Warren Wilson College Sustainable Dining Policy: A Strategic Partnership Case Study
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
This case study presentation will delve into the collective research and actions by Warren Wilson College (WWC) students, staff, and Sodexo employees to create a resilient and adaptable dining service …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Lessons from the Rookie Years: Building a Sustainability Program on a Shoestring Budget
- Saint Louis University (MO)
When first starting a sustainability program at the university four years ago, our division of facilities services created a strategic plan that identified “environmental resource optimization” as an initiative. It …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A holistic approach to culture change on campus: a new model of liberal arts education
- Green Mountain College (VT)
Making the transition to sustainability in higher education will require a significant culture change across the campus. The current approach in which sustainability is pursued as a collection of isolated …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Flash Strategy Workshop: Moving From Reactive to Proactive in 60 Minutes
- Dartmouth College (NH)
- GreenerU (MA)
In our role as sustainability professionals, we serve as organizational change agents. At the same time, we have many “balls in the air” and we “wear many hats” in our …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
New Kid on the Block: How Our University Launched its New Sustainability Program
- University of North Texas (TX)
Each year more and more universities and campuses realize the importance of sustainability as seen by the growth of sustainability programs, academic degrees and certifications, and professionals employed in higher …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sustainability Planning 2.0: Strategic Sustainability Planning to Achieve Ambitious Resource Conservation Targets
- University of British Columbia (BC)
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is using the campus as a living lab to develop long-range resource conservation action plans that are ambitious, yet have tangible, achievable targets and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Campus Sustainability Assessment System at a Japanese University through STARS International Pilot
- Hokkaido University (Hokkaido)
Campus Sustainability Assessment System 2013 for Hokkaido University was formulated not only to assess the outcome obtained by activities which we intended to carry out according to Action Plan 2012 …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
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.