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
New Resources
Building A Campus Sustainability Effort at a Regional Public University: A Five Year Retrospective
- Western Illinois University (IL)
While student leadership on campus sustainability issues is the norm on many campuses, attention to sustainability at Western Illinois University has been driven by faculty and staff. Until recently, student ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Chandler Gilbert Community College - Sustainability as a Campus Wide Strategy
- Chandler-Gilbert Community College (AZ)
This presentation will demonstrate how to integrate sustainability into institutional effectiveness. Chandler Gilbert Community College has embedded a commitment to sustainability into its strategic plan for 2007-2012. The strategic plan ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Making Your Campus a Laboratory for Sustainability: Linking Operations and Curriculum
- Evergreen State College, The (WA)
How can you incorporate daily operations of your campus into a laboratory for learning opportunities for students? This presentation will emphasize easily transferable strategies, regardless of campus size and orientation ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Corporate Sustainability Reports: How to Perform a Basic Analysis to Understand a Company's Sustainability Efforts
- University of Idaho (ID)
Corporate Sustainability Reports are heavily criticized for portraying more marketing and public relations material than quantitative accounts of the company's commitment to sustainability. Corporate Sustainability Reports can contain mountains ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Sustainable Community College: Internal and External Paths We Have Followed
- Grand Rapids Community College (MI)
A presentation, by the Associate Provost and Director of Sustainability at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), will examine how GRCC have come to integrate sustainability into the principles and practices ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Greening of a Community College
- Harford Community College (MD)
Harford Community College has been a leader of the nation's campus sustainability initiatives since 2001. This poster presentation will share how the college has institutionalized sustainability practices into all ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Ithaca College's Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Ithaca College (NY)
Ithaca College has estimated its greenhouse gas inventory for the last seven years using the Clean-Air Cool-Planet excel-based calculator. The emissions inventory has been accomplished each year by an undergraduate ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Being Spartan Green at MSU
- Michigan State University (MI)
Want to mobilize a sustainable movement on your campus? We invite you to participate in a presentation that can help you get your campus moving onward or take your current ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Technology Education for Sustainable Development: Institutional Transformation, Integration of Best Practices, and Associated Challenges at a Premier Canadian Institute of Technology - NAIT
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (AB)
NAIT is the third largest post-secondary institution in Alberta, serving over 86,500 full and part-time students in a wide range of programming. In addition to diploma and baccalaureate programming ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus Sustainability Planning: Perceptions and Priorities
- Oberlin College (OH)
Planning for campus sustainability is often initiated by facilities and services, environment-related departments, or directly by the administration. The impetus for these entities is often serving vested interests, putting out ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Why Your Campus Needs an Office of Sustainability
- Ohio University (OH)
Sonia Marcus, sustainability coordinator at Ohio University, will discuss the benefits of creating a dedicated office of Sustainability to address green campus goals. In this presentation, you will learn why ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Portland State University: Let Knowledge Serve the City
- Portland State University (OR)
PSU's approach to sustainability seeks to integrate operations, research, education and community engagement. Our poster will draw on green building and watershed stewardship projects that demonstrate our strategy. The ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Carbon Budgets as a Teachable Moment
- Union College - NY (NY)
The calculation of a college's carbon budget one of the most important steps toward assessing an institution's sustainability and creating a plan to improve operations. Calculating carbon budgets ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Science at a Land Grant Institution: Linking Community Visioning and Scientific Analysis
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
The need for academic researchers to have meaningful co-learning experiences with leaders in the broader community has been highlighted in much of the literature on sustainability. Scientists and community leaders ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustaining a University Committee on Sustainability
- University of North Carolina, Greensboro (NC)
A campus-wide Committee on Sustainability was formed at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in the fall of 2006 through an open invitation to faculty, staff, and students ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Architecture of an Institutional Framework for Campus-wide Sustainability
- West Virginia University (WV)
West Virginia University (WVU), a major land-grant institution is well aware of the shift in thinking and reality that campus sustainability is not only an important advantage in recruiting students ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Green Honchos: How Allegheny College's Taskforce for Environmental Responsibility Created Eco-minded Administrators
- Allegheny College (PA)
Allegheny College has a long history of environmental initiatives on campus and within the community. For instance for the past decade CEED (Center for Economic and Environmental Development) has supported ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Walking our Talk: Strategies, Challenges & Successes in the Pursuit of Sustainability and Social Justice on Campus
- Antioch University, New England (NH)
This presentation will focus on identifying the tensions, obstacles and openings for moving higher ed institutions towards greater sustainability and social justice. The presentation will draw on the experience of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Exploring New Terrain in Business Education: Bringing Sustainability to Ground Level
- Aquinas College (MI)
Sustainable business, as an emerging field of study, explores new approaches to commerce and business practices. Its focus on commerce departs from the linear "heat, beat, and treat" structure of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Flying Under the Radar: Quietly Transforming a Conservative Campus
- Auburn University (AL)
In 2004 Auburn University's sustainability task force received one-time funding for a demonstration sustainability initiative. Since then we have received year-to-year support for a "temporary" office. This presentation will ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Bucknell University Environmental Assessment: An Integrated Approach to Campus Sustainability.
- Bucknell University (PA)
This presentation outlines the design, development, and findings of Bucknell University's Environmental Assessment, the first comprehensive study of the University's ecological impact, and arguably the most extensive of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Development of Carbon Mitigation Tools and Benchmarks for Universities in the U.S.
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
A large share of U.S. universities is currently implementing campus green and sustainable initiatives. "Green" and "sustainable" initiatives can include a broad set of issues. For example, climate mitigation ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability in Elite Public Business Schools: Reality or Oxymoron?
- Drexel University (PA)
Critics of business schools and their cadillac MBA programs find fault with both for their lack of civic engagement and diminutive focus on issues of ethics, diversity, social justice, and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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New Developments in Green Facilities Management
- Green Seal (DC)
Presenters will discuss several new and important elements of green facilities management including two new Green Seal pilot programs: the Green Facilities Partnership and the Green Purchasing Partnership. These programs ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Beyond Campus: Down on the Farm, Opportunities & Challenges for a University Permaculture Project
- Meredith College (NC)
Pacific University's B Street Permaculture Project is an emerging grassroots organization and demonstration site whose mission is to provide inspiration and information about environmentally sensitive, sustainable living practices for ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Winthrop University: Regenerative Design
- Moseley Architects (VA)
A recent master plan moved the core of campus to a new location. The first building completed is the "West Center." This building pays homage to the 1915 building it ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Next Step: Developing and Implementing Climate Action Plans for Reducing Net GHG Emissions
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
With the challenge so critical and the stakes so high, the need for climate leadership has never been greater. The good news is that the higher education sector is responding ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Against the Wind: How to Fan the Flames of Institutional Transformation.
- North Carolina State University (NC)
Despite the fact that the UN's vision for sustainable development calls for an integration of competing social, economic and ecological interests, the practice in higher education has focused primarily ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Learning from Experience: Collaboration for Campus Carbon Cutbacks
- Rocky Mountain Institute (CO)
This poster will reveal some preliminary findings from Rocky Mountain Institute's (RMI) new research project: Accelerating Campus Climate-Change Initiatives. RMI is partnering with AASHE to develop a comprehensive research ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability from Scratch
- St. Petersburg College (FL)
This presentation will focus on how one "late blooming" college launched a multifaceted sustainability program. From having a fairly embryonic program a year ago, St. Petersburg College formed a Sustainability ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Stanford: Leading Campus Sustainability in the 21st Century
- Stanford University (CA)
With sustainability as a core value for Stanford, the progressive projects in operations, buildings, transportation, and IT are indeed defining leadership in campus sustainability in the 21st century.The university ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Choosing the Right Metrics and Measuring the ROI of Sustainability Strategies
- Strategic Measures, Inc. (NC)
Proving financial value and profitability of sustainability is fast becoming a key performance indicator for the higher education sector however, these outcomes are not often measured for lack of an ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The College Sustainability Report Card
- Sustainable Endowments Institute (MA)
The College Sustainability Report Card is the only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities at colleges and universities. The Report Card is designed to identify schools that are ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Operations to Mission: Finding Points of Pedagogical Leverage in Campus Sustainability Initiatives
- University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)
Drawing on case studies and research conducted at the University of California Santa Cruz, this paper discusses the integration of campus sustainability initiatives and academic curriculum in universities. It explores ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Launching Sustainability at the University of Hawaii at Manoa
- University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
The Sustainable Saunders initiative at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is an inspiring case study of students leading the way for campus and state-wide sustainability. The interdisciplinary student team ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Evolving Role of Sustainability Coordinator: What Do They Do?
- University of Minnesota, Morris (MN)
This presentation will describe the journey of the first campus sustainability coordinator (CSC) at the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM)-- a small liberal arts college in rural Minnesota over the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Go Big or Go Home: Branding Canada's Green University
- University of Northern British Columbia (BC)
In 2007, the University of Northern British Columbia trademarked the phrase, "Canada's Green University." In many ways, it's a perfect brand for UNBC: the proportion of environmental teaching ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Field Report on The University of Oklahoma Sustainability and Green Initiatives and Actions
- University of Oklahoma (OK)
Green activity at OU has increased significantly over the past two years. A great deal of this is due to the structure that AASHE has provided as well as recent ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Toward Sustainable Decision Making
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
Shaping a sustainable future is the most pressing work of our time. To respond to this challenge, we must account for our profound influence upon the interdependent web of economic ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Problem-Based Learning for Campus Sustainability: Design and Implementation of Western Washington University's Campus Sustainability Assessment
- Western Washington University (WA)
Campus sustainability assessments using a problem-based learning pedagogy pose a unique opportunity for sustainability education for both higher education institutions and students. Student research teams at Western Washington University were ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Service Learning - Moving from Planning to Action in the First Year
- Wright State University (OH)
During 2005-2006 Wright State University's First Year Experience program was recognized nationally through its inclusion as one of 13 four-year institutions in the Foundations of Excellence in the First ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Innovation in Action: Leveraging a Whole Systems Approach to Sustainability Planning at UBC’s Okanagan Campus
- University of British Columbia (BC)
Higher education is called to advance, demonstrate and model best practices in sustainability. But how can sustainability leaders move this agenda forward against the backdrop of current funding pressures and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Officers Workshop
- University of Hawaii - West Oahu (HI)
- University of British Columbia (BC)
The purpose of the Sustainability Officers workshop is to:
Provide a space for networking and relationship building amongst higher education sustainability professionals
Build our toolkit of skills to effectively engage ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University: A Case Study in Sustainability
- Saint John's University (MN)
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (CSB/SJU) embarked actively on incorporating sustainability into operations and education by declaring 2010-2011 as the Year of Sustainability. This focus ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Written in the STARS: Correlations Between Performance & Best Practices
- University of Toronto (ON)
The STARS assessment framework presents a very interesting and informative set of data that measures both environmental performance and adoption of best practices. Gathering both types of information allows for ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fostering Resilient Communities through Innovative, Integrated Partnerships and Projects: UBC Okanagan Campus Sustainable Community Development
- University of British Columbia (BC)
Universities provide a leadership role by developing and mobilizing knowledge and innovation to meet societal needs. In fulfilling this mission, universities can also serve as agents of sustainable change and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Implementing Sustainability at Liberal Arts Colleges
- College of Saint Benedict (MN)
- Middlebury College (VT)
- Evergreen State College, The (WA)
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
As they develop their vision and agenda for their campus, sustainability leaders face important, strategic choices regarding the most efficient, effective ways to structure their work to embed sustainability more ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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AASHE, USGBC, NWF and Second Nature Announcement
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
- Second Nature (MA)
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
- AASHE (MA)
Meghan Fay Zahniser from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), Julian Keniry from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Jaime Van Mourik from the U.S ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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CCPS Environmental Management & Assessment Major
- Drury University (MO)
The College of Graduate & Continuing Studies offers an associate of science in environmental management. Courses are designed to provide a basis for understanding the science of environmental management. The ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Academic Programs
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Environmental Risk Assessment Certificate
- University of Illinois, Springfield (IL)
Risk assessment is a frequently used tool in environmental analysis. The graduate certificate in environmental risk assessment provides students with the professional education necessary to perform risk assessment operations for ...
- Posted Feb. 25, 2016
- Academic Programs
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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.