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
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Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is: Analyzing Supply Chain Emissions and Activities at Portland Community College
- Portland Community College (OR)
Portland Community College is required to report on their GHG footprint, by the ACUPCC. In 2006, the college’s first GHG reporting period, we used Second Nature’s Clean Air-Cool Planet carbon …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Telling a Comprehensive Sustainability Story
- Portland State University (OR)
We all know that sustainability is more than just a campus-wide recycling plan. It’s imbued across departments and disciplines, leaks out of classrooms and into communities, it manifests in social …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Winning Real Change Through Goal-setting and Strategy
- Real Food Challenge (MA)
Real Food Challenge is a student-driven organization that has shifted over $50 million in campus dining budgets at toward just and sustainable food sources. With thousands of affiliated students at …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Institutionalizing Sustainability in University Residence Life
- Santa Clara University (CA)
This presentation will provide a model for how to institutionalize and build resilience for sustainability in residence life at your university by adapting to and utilizing existing structures and positions …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Connecting Sustainability Culture to Curriculum at The Hotchkiss School
- The Hotchkiss School (CT)
Josh Hahn, Hotchkiss Assitant Head of School and Director Environmental Initiatives and Andy Cox, General Manager and Director of Sustainability for Dining Service discuss how The Hotchkiss School and Sodexo …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Accelerating the Journey From Ideas to Action, Facilitation Skills for Sustainability Planning and Engagement.
- University of Calgary (AB)
This session is aimed at sustainability practitioners seeking to hone their facilitation skills in sustainability planning, enhance internal stakeholder engagement and leadership capacities, and accelerate the process of moving from …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Climate Adaptation in the West: Audits, Assessments, and Strategic Planning to Achieve Action
- University of Denver (CO)
Colorado and many western states face hotter and likely drier futures. Acknowledging the need for resilience, students and staff at the University of Denver embarked on an expansive environmental assessment …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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University’s Role in Building Resilient Businesses and Communities – The Case of the University of South Florida
- University of South Florida (Tampa) (FL)
Disaster management professionals are at a critical point in history, when their decisions and actions will either have long‐lasting damaging effects within their communities, or make substantial contributions towards communities’ …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Terms of Empowerment: How to inspire enthusiasm and decentralize accountability
- Yale University (CT)
When a campus sustainability program first starts, the imperative is to effectively to develop brand recognition. Once sustainability is a firmly established concept on a campus, programming can generally shift …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Case Study: Establishing a Green Revolving Fund at Appalachian State University
- Appalachian State University (NC)
Working with the University Sustainability Council and University Foundation, Appalachian State University (ASU) is pursuing the development of a Green Revolving Loan Fund (GRLF) to support University projects that promote …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Make the Most of Recycling: Move It Out of the Recycling Department
- Arizona State University (AZ)
Arizona State University Mail Services has created a recycling collection channel that is designed to promote and enhance the recycling efforts on campus. What started as a process designed to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Projects Assessment Tool (SPAT)
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The Sustainability Projects Assessment Tool (SPAT) is an automated decision support program that seeks to identify total cost of ownership of sustainability projects, and analyzes three aspects: assessment of environmental, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Is China Striving for Sustainability in Higher Education?: Case Studies at two aspiring "World-Class" Research Universities in Hong Kong and Shanghai
- Boston College (MA)
China’s system of higher education has experienced significant expansion over the past two decades. Notably, the Chinese government ‘Guideline for Medium and Long Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)’ emphasizes …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Organizational Resilience through Sustainability Performance Indicators
- College of Charleston (SC)
Approaches to sustainability implementation focus largely on campus sustainability, and most do so through a distinct office or department that directs sustainability efforts. Research and case studies highlight a wide …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Igniting Innovation through Sustainable Collaboration
- Denison University (OH)
Denison University, like many liberal arts institutions, seeks to educate students holistically so that they may become discerning moral agents and active citizens in a democratic society. To that end, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student Sustainability Fund vs Green Fee
- DePauw University (IN)
Titles matter. This spring, DePauw University's Student Government set aside $10,000 from the Student Activity Fee to advance sustainability on campus. Rather than solely focus on "green" or "renewable" projects, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Food Metrics: Accountability, Efficiency, and Equity
- Emory University (GA)
How do we assess whether our campus food services are doing their part to support a larger sustainability vision for higher education? Diverse metrics around procurement (such as commitments to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Factoring Supply Chain into Scope 3 GHG Reporting
- Emory University (GA)
Thanks to a push from large corporations such as Wal-Mart, many corporations are tracking the greenhouse gas emissions of their supply chain. Knowledge of your supply chain is essential for …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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An Innovative Self-Funded Platform for Scalable Building Energy Upgrades & Community Engagement
- George Washington University (DC)
So you’ve signed the ACUPCC and perhaps you even have a sustainability fund – where do you go from here?? The George Washington University recently pondered this question and has …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Adaptive Reuse - Making Yesterday’s Buildings Work for Today’s Campus
- Georgia Southern University (GA)
We will present a 20 minute video followed by questions and answers on the adaptive reuse of 6 historically significant dormitories and previous dining hall. These buildings are located in …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Green Campus 2.0 in Korea
- Korea National University of Education
Since the last 5 years after the establishment of the Green Campus movement in Korea, with a discussion related to the international environmental issues such as climate change, the recognition …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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People, Planet, Participation: An Approach to Holistically Embedding Sustainability in Curriculum
- Macquarie University (NSW)
Embedding sustainability across a broad curriculum is a difficult and daunting task. An holistic approach cannot simply focus on adding content into existing units, nor can it depend upon specifically …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Elephant Not in the Room: Redefining the Student- Administration Relationship
- Missouri State University (MO)
Student- Administration relationships have been an ever evolving dynamic on campuses around the country. Today, there are varying opinions on where this relationship currently stands. Too often there is a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Pilot-to-Institutionalization Methodologies for Campus Community Greening Funds
- New York University (NY)
A sharply increasing number of universities have implemented Campus Community Greening Funds (CCGFs) which offer students, and sometimes staff and faculty, modest funding for campus sustainability initiatives. This briefing will …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Case Study of the Green Council: Students Building a Movement through Collaboration
- Temple University (PA)
This session will provide a case study of how a university can maximize student engagement in sustainability issues through the creation of an eco-friendly coalition of student organizations. The university’s …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustaining Sustainability: Making Progress Beyond the ACUPCC
- Towson University (MD)
Your institution has made a commitment to sustainability, it signed the ACUPCC, formed a committee, hired a sustainability coordinator, but now what? Many sustainability efforts get off to a great …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Plenary: Organizational Leadership for Sustainability Education
- Unity Environmental University (ME)
As president of Unity College, Dr. Stephen Mulkey is a champion of sustainability science, which he sees as the defining framework for academic programming at Unity College. In just under …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability & Measuring Happiness
- University of Calgary (AB)
There is global recognition for the need to champion better indicators of social well-being. The United Nations resolution, 'Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development', recognized that, “...the pursuit of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Scholars Roundtable: Stimulating Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- University of Louisville (KY)
Learn about how one university has stimulated transdisciplinary research collaboration in sustainability and resilience, despite four major obstacles. First, sustainability can mean different things in different disciplines, preventing common understandings …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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“You Can’t Measure That!” Measuring Affective Learning Outcomes in an Undergraduate Urban Sustainability Course
- University of Louisville (KY)
Traditional classroom assessments are unable to measure students’ development of the affective competencies and behavioral dispositions implicit in education for sustainability. This original research addresses the question of how to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Evolutionary Development of University of North Texas
- University of North Texas (TX)
Critics of “sustainable development” tend to stigmatize the concept by labeling it as oxymoron. They believe that the concept is self-contradictory because “development” comes from the area of the dominant …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How can we know that our educational efforts are working?
- University of Otago (Otago)
Some higher education institutions aspire to transform students into global citizens, able and willing to address the sustainability needs of the planet. Yet these institutions have limited capacity to evaluate …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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50 Shades of Green: An Examination of Sustainability Policy on Canadian Campuses
- University of Saskatchewan (SK)
While there is an abundance of literature on sustainability in higher education emerging within academic journals, there has been a paucity of research examining the uptake and implementation of sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using Decision Pathways to Adapt Coastal Areas to a Changing Climate under Uncertain Risk: a Study of Three Australian Local Governments
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)
Risks associated with climate change are generally considered to increase as time progresses, but the degree to which this correlation holds for a specific coastal area is uncertain. When developing …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Task Force Transforms Sustainable Strategies and Implementation For a Bicycle Friendly Campus
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI)
A severe debt-service, a campus culture of parking pressures and contention, and a parking committee stagnated by budget pressures, all lead to the inaction on alternative transportation measures. Sustainability in …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Continuous Improvement: Restructuring Western Michigan University’s Office for Sustainability Internships to Facilitate Greater Comprehensive Success
- Western Michigan University (MI)
In an effort to be more relevant and more resilient, the WMU Office for Sustainability is adapting their internship program protocol and process to ensure greater success for the students, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Growing An Integrated Urban Farm, Modular and Mobile
- Xavier University (OH)
With space constraints, a Master Plan that is a "moving target," and limited funds, Xavier University undertook to build a farm on-campus. The design choices at every step of the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Measuring Success
- Yale University (CT)
This presentation will focus on how to capture, disclose and manage sustainability performance metrics. The presentation will focus on how to develop and institutionalize sustainability performance metrics that lead to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Aiming Higher: The Rio+20 Report on Higher Education's Role in Sustainable Development
- Portland Community College (OR)
- Macquarie University (NSW)
Our presentation will highlight the efforts made by an international consortium of educators and higher education leaders at Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to persuade delegates to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Greening the Team: Enhancing the Sustainability of Collegiate Athletic Facilities
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
- University of Southern California (CA)
- Green Sports Alliance (OR)
- Natural Resources Defense Council (DC)
Athletic facilities are often the centerpieces of higher education campuses, where people come together and school spirit is built. They are also venues offering vast opportunities for positive impact on …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Officers Workshop: Leveraging Leadership for Campus Sustainability
- Unity Environmental University (ME)
- Environmental Leadership Program (MD)
This workshop will focus on strengths-based leadership and systems thinking for the sustainability professional. Participants will map your own personal and professional strengths while considering how those strengths can move …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) 101 (2012)
- California State University, East Bay (CA)
- AASHE (MA)
Since 2006, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), a membership organization of colleges and universities committed to building a sustainable world, has engaged in a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessing Sustainability Learning Outcomes at Two Community Colleges
- Delta College (MI)
Assessing sustainability and general education outcomes is a tough nut to crack. Follow two community college academic professionals along their journey to discover an efficient and effective assessment tool. Both …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Changing the Default: Using Social Marketing Research to Promote Behavior Change Campaigns
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
Tackling sustainability issues usually means change at every level of an organization. Even within large powerful organizations change has to begin with someone acting differently. Sometimes highlighting financial benefits can …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Honing Student Involvement: Structuring Programs for Success
- Johns Hopkins University (MD)
- University of Florida (FL)
Could your student programs or internships be refined to maximize effectiveness and impact? University of Florida staff will present an overview of student programs with innovative incentive structures and systems …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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STARS Advanced Workshop: Strategies for Continuous Improvement
- California State University, Monterey Bay (CA)
- AASHE (MA)
- GreenerU (MA)
This workshop will take an in-depth look at what AASHE is learning from the data shared through institutional STARS Reports submitted to-date. The focus will be on lessons learned as …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Third-party Certification: Overcoming Barriers and Unexpected Benefits
- Boston University (MA)
A third-party certification lends validity and accountability to an institution's efforts and initiatives implemented with the goal of making their operations more sustainable. Third-party certification also benefits an institution by …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Accelerating Campus Sustainability in Kyoto University
- Kyoto University
After the Great East-Japan Earthquake and the followed reactor's accident in Fukushima Prefecture which occurred on May 2011, fostering a culture of sustainability, saving electricity and installing energy efficient facilities …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Regionally Organizing for Sustainability: South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium (SMHEC)
- Kankakee Community College (IL)
- Moraine Valley Community College (IL)
- Prairie State College (IL)
- South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium (IL)
South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium (SMHEC) is a regional consortium of 12 higher education institutions, representing non-profit, private, for-profit and four- and two-year universities and colleges. This consortium is led …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Students Making a Difference at a Community College: One year after our first AASHE Conference
- College of Lake County (IL)
In 2011, four community college student leaders were sponsored to attend their first AASHE conference. For many of them, this was their first exposure to their college's sustainability efforts, and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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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.