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Public Engagement

Introduction

Engagement in community problem-solving is fundamental to sustainability. By engaging with community members and organizations in the governmental, non-profit and for-profit sectors, institutions can help solve sustainability challenges. Community engagement can help students develop leadership skills while deepening their understandings of practical, real-world problems and the process of creating solutions.

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Scaling the Ladder: Engagement Programs as Tools for Sustainability

  • McGill University (QC)
  • AASHE (MA)

There is often tension between the focus on individual behavioral action and systemic change in sustainability circles. How do we encourage the small steps that engage community members on a …

  • Posted Sept. 17, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Fun Family Outing under the highway

Butterworth Outer Ring Road Community Engagement Day

  • Universiti Sains Malaysia

Community engagement day held at the Bagan Dalam Butterworth. The community is a B40 community from different ethnicity such as Malay, Indian and migrant workers. Migrant workers include Rohingya, Nepalese, …

  • Posted Sept. 11, 2020
  • Outreach Materials
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Arrive as Intern, Depart Further on the Path to Sustainabilista

  • Auburn University (AL)
  • AASHE (MA)

Change will not happen because we care about or understand sustainability issues. Change will happen because we are equipped and empowered to act on what we care and know about. …

  • Posted Aug. 20, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Restoring College Sports Amid COVID-19: Leveraging Climate Action

  • The Ohio State University (OH)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
  • University of Miami (FL)
  • Wake Forest University (NC)
  • AASHE (MA)

As college sports programs plan their recovery from Covid-19 impacts, leveraging existing campus assets and fan preferences opens up sports sustainability operations that generate revenues, cost savings, and significant campus/community …

  • Posted Aug. 4, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Reframing the Climate Conversation: Telling the Story to Bring About Productive Climate Action

  • Ramapo College of New Jersey (NJ)
  • New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJ)
  • AASHE (MA)
  • Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)

This webinar is is brought to you by the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS), the FrameWorks Institute and the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation …

  • Posted July 30, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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On the Cover: University of Calgary Sustainable Development Goals Alliance (SDGA) Executive Team, 2018-19.

STARS Aligned: Using the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System to Report on Contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals

  • AASHE (MA)

This guide demonstrates how institutions can use the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS) to report on their contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

  • Posted July 13, 2020
  • Publications
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Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity

  • Routledge

The Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity (2020) is a timely book, as across the globe more and more of us awake to our always interconnected selves. The Handbook brings the …

  • Posted July 10, 2020
  • Publications
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Exploration of Creation Care and Sustainability Among Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) Members

  • Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (DC)
  • Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)

This exploration highlights Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) members who are creatively contributing to the common good and building a just, thriving world for all via environmental stewardship. …

  • Posted June 23, 2020
  • Publications
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Power Dialog Webinar Discussion Templates - Civic Engagement

  • Bard College (NY)

Bard College's Solve Climate By 2030 Power Dialog Webinar offers discussion templates for teachers. This template is for civic engagement.

  • Posted June 12, 2020
  • Course Materials
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Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation

  • Bard College (NY)

'Rethinking the Future - Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation' is Tony Seba's opening keynote at the 70th annual Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, Colorado, April 9th, 2018.

The …

  • Posted June 12, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Teaching Local Sustainability Online

  • Prescott College (AZ)
  • AASHE (MA)
  • Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (MD)

While online learning may conjure up images of isolated students alone at their computers, this medium also provides ways to help people become locally engaged in the creation of sustainable, …

  • Posted June 4, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Curriculum, Sustainability and Success: Your Curriculum Needs a Reality Check

  • AASHE (MA)
  • Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (MD)

This webinar is part of the joint SCC — AASHE series of webinars on sustainability in the curriculum

"Your Curriculum Needs a Reality Check" Wednesday, March 4, 2020 3:00 pm …

  • Posted May 28, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Living Earth Festival 2018: MA‘O Organic Farms

  • University of Hawaii Leeward Community College (HI)
  • University of Hawaii - West Oahu (HI)

This video, taken at the Living Earth Festival in 2018, highlights efforts by MA'O Organic Farms in Waianae, Hawaii to uplift the local community through employment opportunities and local produce. …

  • Posted May 28, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Engaging Students in Citizen Science: Guiding Inquiry to Action

  • Teachers College, Columbia University (NY)

The webinar series -- Thinking Global, Educating Local -- is intended to serve as professional development for educators who are interested in reducing the ecological footprint of their school and …

  • Posted May 28, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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SUNY COIL Global Commons Program

  • State University of New York at New Paltz (NY)
  • State University of New York System Office (NY)

During this six-week, six-credit program, SUNY students take action on one of six selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in partnership with a community based or non-governmental organization (CBO or NGO). …

  • Posted May 28, 2020
  • Academic Programs
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Doing Good While Doing Your Job – Moving Toward a Circular Economy (during this time of Coronavirus)

  • Stony Brook University (NY)
  • AASHE (MA)
  • Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (DC)
  • Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (MA)
  • Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Brought to you by the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) and its members – a network of higher education associations with a commitment to advancing sustainability within their constituencies …

  • Posted May 28, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Solve Climate by 2030: Solar Dominance + Civic Action

  • Bard College (NY)

A nationwide series of campus and community Power Dialogs will educate students about Power as clean energy, but also about Power as engaged citizen action. Dialogs will spotlight how transforming …

  • Posted May 28, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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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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U.S. Sustainable Food Market Generation Z Consumer Segments

  • Iowa State University (IA)

This study explores the interaction between environmental consciousness and sustainable food attributes as predictors in the market segmentation process for sustainable foods with respect to United States (U.S.) Generation Z …

Why has sustainability advanced in management schools? A sociological explanation (Por que a Sustentabilidade tem avançado nas Escolas de Gestão? Uma explicação sociológica)

  • Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS

This theoretical essay aims to provide a sociological explanation for the increasing importance of sustainability principles and practices in Management Schools. It does so by approximating two theoretical perspectives. First, …

Sustainable engineering master module – insights from three cohorts of European engineering team

  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • Polytechnic University of Milan
  • Technische Universität Berlin (Berlin)
  • Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (Berlin)
  • Warsaw University of Technology

Mobility and transnational migration are current social developments among the population of the European Union. These developments in both society-at-large and companies, linked to the challenges of sustainability, lead to …

Alliances of Change Pushing Organizational Transformation Towards Sustainability across 13 Universities

  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Universities are expected to play a leading role in developing and maintaining sustainability. To contribute to a systemic and dynamic understanding of organizational change that is necessary in order to …

Does higher education prepare students to bridge divides in today’s democracy?

  • Western Washington University (WA)

Recent political events serve as a reminder that American society comprises groups with divergent visions for the future and mutually incompatible ideas of how to achieve those futures. Despite this …

Educating for Sustainability: The Crucial Role of the Tertiary Sector

  • Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University/Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (Stuttgart)

The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations represent a universal response to current global challenges that include climate change, poverty, political instability and the massive displacement of people worldwide. …

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 …

Creating a Digital Environmental Justice Toolkit

  • University of Connecticut (CT)

With the help of University of Connecticut (UConn) students, staff and faculty members, and local and national rights-based organizations, I created an environmental justice toolkit. This novel toolkit addresses what …

An example of how Swarthmore's Ecosphere structure could be changed to add an Environmental Action working group, and mention the role of student groups

Swarthmore President's Sustainability Research Fellowship - Increasing Opportunities for Involvement with the Office of Sustainability

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

Purpose: To increase engagement with sustainability on campus by thinking about ways to improve existing internships, imagining new ways for students and student groups to get involved, and utilizing our …

Leopold Lectures Colage

Engaging campus and beyond: The Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lecture Series

  • University of Northern Iowa (IA)

The Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lecture Series (ALDLS) was established in 2018 with the goal of engaging the University of Northern Iowa community, providing opportunities throughout the academic year to interact …

Serve-Learn-Sustain's Affiliated Courses Program at Georgia Tech

  • Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)

The Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) Affiliated Courses Program is the centerpiece of sustainability education at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The program launched in Spring 2016 along with the opening of the …

Figure 2

Priming the Sustainability Talent Pipeline: Indiana Sustainability Development Program

  • Indiana University Bloomington (IN)
  • Indiana University Kokomo (IN)
  • Indiana University South Bend (IN)
  • Indiana University Indianapolis (IN)

The Indiana Sustainability Development Program (ISDP) is a privately funded sustainability workforce development initiative led by Sustain IU (the Office of Sustainability at Indiana University), which pairs students with organizations …

PHEC Timeline

Multi-Campus Collaboration Kickstarts Solar Project to Cut 100% of GHG Emissions from Electricity

  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • Lafayette College (PA)
  • Lehigh University (PA)
  • Muhlenberg College (PA)
  • Coho Climate Advisors (MD)

Four independent colleges and universities in Pennsylvania collaborated to explore renewable energy solutions, develop a strategy, and implement a combination of onsite and large-scale offsite projects that will result in …

Community Garden Layout

Palo Alto College Community Garden

  • Palo Alto College (TX)

The Palo Alto Community Garden opened in October of 2019 as a space to grow food, cultivate community, and improve food security for the greater Palo Alto Community.

Acid Mine Drainage in SE Ohio

Toxic Art: Sustainable Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage for Pigment Production

  • Ohio University (OH)
  • Rural Action (OH)

This exemplary sustainability project utilizes an Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)-to-Paint Pigment treatment technology developed by Guy Riefler and John Sabraw at Ohio University to simultaneously benefit the environment, the economy …

Building Trust and Community: The Transformative Experience of the Green Revolving Fund at Agnes Scott College

  • Agnes Scott College (GA)
  • Sustainable Endowments Institute (MA)
  • Second Nature (MA)
  • City of Decatur (GA)

Agnes Scott College initiated the college’s Green Revolving Fund (GRF) in 2011 as a practical solution to a common challenge shared by colleges and universities that have committed to a …

COVID-19 & Sustainability Discussion: Recap & Reflection

  • Emory University (GA)
  • Portland Community College (OR)
  • Swarthmore College (PA)
  • The New School (NY)
  • University of Missouri (MO)
  • AASHE (MA)

During the month of April, AASHE will be leading a discussion series for our community to engage with one another to talk through opportunities and challenges related to COVID-19 and …

  • Posted May 18, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Head of lettuce from the CropKing NFT system

Pitt Hydroponics

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

Pitt Hydroponics is a student group that is dedicated to the education of Pitt students in hydroponic practices, the outreach to local communities, and the research and creation of small-scale …

EchoWorks Logo

EchoWorks: An Electronics Recycling Community Partnership

  • Western Dakota Technical College (SD)

EchoWorks is a social enterprise that recycles electronic waste and employs people with disabilities. Located on the campus of Western Dakota Tech, a community college in Rapid City, South Dakota, …

Pop-Up People's Pantry

Pop-Up People's Pantry- Feeding those in need in response to COVID-19

  • University of California, Merced (CA)

The Pop-Up People's Pantry at the 18th St. People's Garden popped up in response to COVID-19 to feed our food insecure community healthy and nutritious food, predominantly fresh produce.

SDG Week Banner

SDG Week

  • University of British Columbia (BC)

SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Week [https://sustain.ubc.ca/sdg] was a week-long occasion at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus that consisted of ten multidisciplinary events—six of these events were organized by …

The Council On The Uncertain Human Future

PSRF Final Project Report: Climate Community

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

Mission

The Climate Community President’s Sustainability Research Fellowship (PSRF) project is dedicated to generating an engaged and purposeful climate community at Swarthmore College. This means breaking the mold of climate …

Diversity Food Services: Leading the Way on Socially and Environmentally responsible Campus Dining in Canada

  • University of Winnipeg (MB)

The University of Winnipeg Campus Sustainability Office would like to nominate Diversity Food Services for an AASHE Campus Sustainability Achievement Award.

Diversity Food Services is a joint venture of the …

Ecofeminism breakout session at the 2019 SDG Summit

Building campus capacity for the SDGs: a case study of the SDG Summit conference

  • University of Calgary (AB)

The SDG Summit is an annual training conference at the University of Calgary that is focused on engaging youth with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through immersive opportunities for learning, …

Students performing energy audit 1

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN K-12 SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDY IN FLORIDA

  • Florida Institute of Technology (FL)

Buildings are one of the largest energy consumers in the United States. K-12 schools are responsible for nearly 8% of energy consumption by commercial buildings which is equivalent to 1.44% …

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 …

Aggie Green Fund grant recipients, Broch Saxton and Lisette Templin, observe the health of their harvest.

TAMU Urban Farm United (TUFU) Campus Food Forest Serves Aggies in Need

  • Texas A&M University (TX)

The TAMU Urban Farm, TUFU for short, is a new concept organization on the campus of Texas A&M University (TAMU), whose mission is “Grow to Serve”. The project was made …

Graduate ability to show workplace sustainability leadership: demonstration of an assessment tool

  • RMIT University

Information associated with the assessment of graduate attributes, in the workplace, is limited. Yet if the many environmental and social problems that confront communities are to be managed, we need …

Using a Solutions Lens to Engage Students on the UN Global Goals

  • AASHE (MA)
  • Babson College (MA)

Today more than ever, students need to learn not only how society is working to solve its most challenging problems, but also how to think critically and creatively about solutions. …

  • Posted May 14, 2020
  • Videos & Webinars
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Mangrove forest ecotourism: Participatory ecological learning and sustainability of students’ behavior through self-efficacy and self-concept

  • Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Self-efficacy and self-concept were deduced to be able to develop sustainable behavior in students. One potential approach is participatory ecological learning in mangrove forest ecotourism. This study aims to determine …

Sustainability Practices of Higher Education Institutions in Hong Kong: A Case Study of a Sustainable Campus Consortium

  • Lingnan University (New Territories)

Eight University Grant Committee (UGC)-funded public universities in Hong Kong positively and successfully responded to the global call for sustainability efforts in higher education institutions (HEIs). Various initiatives are transpiring …

Virtual conferences in higher education: Teasing out their transformative potential for sustainable development

  • University of Graz
  • University of Bern
  • Universitat de Girona (Girona)
  • Empa Technology & Society Laboratory (Sankt Gallen)

The Coronavirus outbreak has made virtual education a high necessity. Our intention here was to highlight potentials of virtual conferences to enhance transformative learning for sustainable development; new applications will …

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.

EN 10: Community Partnerships

EN 11: Inter-campus Collaboration

EN 12: Continuing Education

EN 13: Community Service

EN 14: Participation in Public Policy

EN 15: Trademark Licensing

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Public Engagement Partners

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