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.

2945 resources

Canadian Networking Session & Exploring Sustainability Charters

  • University of Calgary (AB)
  • Fleming College (ON)
  • Bow Valley College (AB)

Meet with other Canadian conference attendees and discuss the effectiveness of sustainability charters with a focus on the SDG Accord through breakout groups. Put faces to some familiar names and ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
  • Conference Presentations
  • View more

Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) Networking Session

  • Rice University (TX)
  • Texas A&M University (TX)

This is a networking meeting for Texans and other parties interested in the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) to connect and discuss campus sustainability topics unique to the ...

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
  • Conference Presentations
  • View more

CO_CUS Colorado College & University Sustainability Group

  • Colorado State University (CO)

A networking opportunity for Colorado College & University staff attending AASHE

  • Posted Nov. 15, 2021
  • Conference Presentations
  • View more

Drains on the System

  • Macalester College (MN)

Macalester student volunteers stencil signs near storm drains in Saint Paul, Minn. to raise awareness about runoff pollution in the Mississippi River. This event was a collaboration between the Civic ...

  • Posted Sept. 20, 2021
  • Photographs
  • View more

Webinar: Leveraging Social Media for Sustainability Campus Engagement During and Beyond COVID-19

  • AASHE (PA)
  • American University of Sharjah (Ash Shariqah)

In this interactive session you will learn how to effectively use social media platforms to engage with your campus community virtually, when it is not possible to conduct on campus ...

  • Posted Sept. 16, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

The George Mason University Arboretum

  • George Mason University (VA)

The George Mason University Arboretum cultivates curiosity, education, and well-being through stewardship of its trees, gardens, and other natural spaces. It was established in 2015, earned ArbNet Level II accreditation ...


Four participants of the Barefoot College display their projects.

  • University of St. Thomas (MN)

For the Barefoot College image, please include this in the description in a separate paragraph:

The Barefoot College in northern India teaches women skills to bring solar power to their ...


The Under-Told Stories team interviewing a community activist after the murder of George Floyd.

  • University of St. Thomas (MN)

Under-Told Stories is a journalism project at University of St. Thomas’ Center for the Common Good. The project uses high quality video storytelling to help students understand and engage with ...


The Under-Told Stories team reporting on an effort to clear mine fields in Cambodia.

  • University of St. Thomas (MN)

Under-Told Stories is a journalism project at University of St. Thomas’ Center for the Common Good. The project uses high quality video storytelling to help students understand and engage with ...


PCC Student Leader with Climate Rally Sign

  • Portland Community College (OR)

A student leader at Portland Community College's Cascade campus shows off the sign they made for the youth climate rally during PCC's annual Eco-social Justice Day event. This ...


EV Affordability and Charging Accessibility

  • University of California, San Diego (CA)

University of California, San Diego is advancing electric vehicle charging research, development and demonstration opportunities. Current projects include Adaptive Load Management, Vehicle-2-Grid, PV-Energy Storage integrated DC Fast Chargers, ISO 15118 ...


UM6P FOOD BANK

  • Mohammed VI Polytechnic University

The SD Ambassadors 2021 organized collecting funds campaigns in the 2nd edition of UM6P Food Bank.


UM6P SAP+D Green Tour

  • Mohammed VI Polytechnic University

The Sustainable Development Ambassadors of School of Architecture, planning and design organized a green tour to the new students in order to highlight the sustainable development aspects of the campus ...


Alumni Memorial Hall within Randolph Hall, College of Charleston

  • College of Charleston (SC)

This is the central ceremonial space of the College, within one of its oldest continually used buildings.


L'Anse Community Solar Project

  • Michigan Technological University (MI)

L'Anse Community Solar Project - A team of engineering researchers and students from Michigan Technological University worked with local and state partners to bring solar to the Community of L ...


University of Pittsburgh Textile Recycling

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

Given that clothing and textiles make up approximately 6.3% of the U.S. waste stream, University of Pittsburgh established a textile recycling program to help keep textiles in the ...


Change Comes from the Margins: Sustainability Efforts in Community-Campus Partnerships

  • University of North Carolina, Greensboro (NC)

These are some images of the community collaborations mentioned in the essay, Change Comes from the Margins: Sustainability Efforts in Community-Campus Partnerships


Sterling College EcoGather

  • Sterling College (VT) (VT)

Place-Based, Community-Focused Education - Sterling College is in the process of developing EcoGather, a higher education platform designed to advance ecological thinking and action as a foundation for building regenerative communities ...


Citizen science sustainability at the University of Tasmania

  • University of Tasmania (TAS)

As part of her paid internship through the Sustainability Integration Program for Students (SIPS), Zoe Bucher-Edwards organised a wild pollinator count with the University of Tasmania's entemologist and PhD ...


GVSU Sustainable Agriculture Project and New City Neighbors Partnership

  • Grand Valley State University (MI)

A 30 x 168 ft. Gothic-style hoophouse was being erected at Grand Valley State University’s Sustainable Agriculture Project on November 17, 2020. Employees from Nifty Hoops, New City Neighbors ...


Mentorship Kick-Off

  • Portland State University (OR)

Sustainability Mentorship Program - The Sustainability Mentorship Program at Portland State University provides students an opportunity to connect with career professionals in a variety of sustainability-related fields for two academic terms ...


UCCS Food Next Door | Farm Subscription Program

  • University of Colorado Colorado Springs (CO)

The Food Next Door Farm Subscription Program at University of Colorado Colorado Springs was created to support community food security and literacy. Through the program, a participant buys a subscription ...


Archiving the Campus as Living Laboratory : Preserving a long memory for transformative change

  • University of Utah (UT)

This is part of the Campus as Lab webinar series. To see the full series visit our YouTube Channel.

Sustainable change on campus is often driven by student-led projects, project-oriented ...

  • Posted July 26, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Campus as Lab Webinar Series - 2021-5-14 - Archiving Campus Sustainability Efforts

  • University of Utah (UT)

This Campus as Lab webinar focuses on the University of Utah's efforts to create a campus wide hyper-local archive for sustainability knowledge that is available to all campus and ...

  • Posted July 14, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Working with Vulnerable Communities on Climate Action through Nonformal Higher Education and Peacebuilding

  • Salisbury University (MD)
  • University of Cambridge
  • M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence (NY)

Nonformal higher education provides an avenue to bypass the rigidity of hierarchical structures and prescribed norms within formal education, which offers opportunities to assist marginalized communities with climate action through ...

  • Posted July 7, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

2020 Sustainable Career Panel Series: Corporate Sustainability

  • Villanova University (PA)

This panel series highlights the amazing work Villanova alumni are doing to create a sustainable future for all of us. The Corporate Sustainability panel will feature: Alex Floyd the Senior ...

  • Posted June 10, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Villanova University 2020 Sustainable Career Panel Series: Under 30

  • Villanova University (PA)

This panel series highlights the amazing work Villanova alumni are doing to create a sustainable future for all of us. The Under 30 panel features: Kevin Corbusier a Sustainability Project ...

  • Posted June 10, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

2020 Sustainable Career Panel Series: Public Service

  • Villanova University (PA)

This panel series highlights the amazing work Villanova alumni are doing to create a sustainable future for all of us. The Public Service panel features: Mike Garland, Director of Environmental ...

  • Posted June 10, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Closing Keynote Speaker George Bandy: AASHE 2013

  • Interface, Inc (GA)

George Bandy, VIce President for Sustainability at Interface provides closing remarks at the AASHE 2013 Conference in Nashville, TN.

  • Posted June 4, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Increasing University Competitiveness through Assessment of Green Content in Curriculum and Eco-Labeling in Higher Education

  • University of Novi Sad
  • Educons University

Growing environmental problems and increasing requirements of green jobs force universities around the world not only to transform their curricula but also to enrich existing ones with contents related to ...


Sustainable development goals and higher education: leaving many behind

  • Nelson Mandela University (Eastern Cape)
  • International Education Association of South Africa

This paper critically interrogates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to higher education in low-income countries. While the SDG Goal 4, Target 4.3, calls for ensuring ‘equal access ...


Strengthening city–university partnerships to advance sustainability solutions: a study of research collaborations between the University of British Columbia and City of Vancouver

  • University of British Columbia (BC)
  • Sustainability Solutions Group (QC)
  • City of Vancouver (BC)

This paper aims to investigate sustainability research collaborations between the City of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia (UBC), as a case study to better understand how to use ...


Motivators of Attendance at Eco-Friendly Events

  • Iowa State University (IA)

This study identifies the factors that attract U.S. residents to eco-friendly events. To achieve our research objective, we obtained data (N = 1,115) from a cross-national, web-based survey distributed ...


CGHE 2020 Annual Conference webinar panel: Higher education and sustainability

  • University of Bristol
  • University College London (London)
  • International Association of Universities

Higher education institutions both impact and are impacted by global climate change and the environment. In this conference hosted by the Centre for Global Higher Education, a panel of professors ...

  • Posted May 26, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Climate Action at Lehigh: An Interview with Dave Pryor

  • Lehigh University (PA)

The Office of Sustainability of Office of Communications and Public Affairs come together to discuss how to bring more students and staff into the conversation of sustainability and spread awareness ...

  • Posted May 26, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Earthfest 2020: Getting Involved with Sustainability on Campus

  • University of Michigan (MI)

The Student Sustainability Coalition (SSC), a student organization from the University of Michigan, created a fun guide for students on how to get involved in sustainability on campus. Take a ...

  • Posted May 26, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Managing Organizational Change For Transformational, Deep Decarbonization Initiatives On Campus

  • Second Nature (MA)

From website: "This webinar examined the importance of managing cultural and process change to support the implementation of deep decarbonization initiatives on campus - focusing on the critical roles of stakeholder ...

  • Posted May 26, 2021
  • Videos & Webinars
  • View more

Sneed Prairie Restoration Project

  • Austin College (TX)

From website: "In 2001, Austin College initiated an ecosystem restoration project at a former family farm. The Clinton and Edith Sneed Environmental Research Area and Prairie Restoration site, named after ...

  • Posted May 26, 2021
  • Research Centers & Institutes
  • View more

SCECon 21: Our World, Our Time, Our Voices

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

SCECon 2021: Our World, Our Time, Our Voices aims to recenter the environmental narrative around environmental justice by giving intentional space for students to learn about unique and intersectional environmental ...


SDG Undergraduate Research Group

  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)

Launched Fall 2020, SURG (SDG Undergraduate Research Group) is an undergraduate research group affiliated with the UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability and guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We ...


Inclusive Sustainability: Collaborative Approaches through UC Santa Cruz’s People of Color Sustainability Collective

  • University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)

The People of Color Sustainability Collective (PoCSC) works to make the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) a leader in sustainability and environmental justice, in recognition of our changing demographics ...


Minnesota Student Sustainability Leadership Network

  • St. Catherine University (MN)
  • University of St. Thomas (MN)

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, students created theMinnesota Student Sustainability Leadership Network to bring together student leaders involved in sustainability from colleges and universities across the state of ...


California State University System-wide Climate Justice and Intersectional Sustainability Speaker Series

  • San Diego State University (CA)
  • California State University, San Marcos (CA)
  • California State University, Channel Islands (CA)
  • California State University, East Bay (CA)
  • California State University, Chancellor's Office (CA)
  • California State University, Chico (CA)
  • California State University, Fullerton (CA)
  • California State University, Long Beach (CA)
  • California State University, Northridge (CA)
  • California State University, Sacramento (CA)
  • Cal Poly Humboldt (CA)
  • California State University, Los Angeles (CA)
  • California Polytechnic State University (CA)
  • California State University, Stanislaus (CA)

During the 2020-21 academic year, Sustainability Officers from across the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system, the largest public university system in the U.S., joined forces to coordinate a ...


Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC)

  • College of William & Mary (VA)

WMGIC is the premier intercollegiate hack-a-thon style international and sustainable development case competition aimed at encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration to create innovative solutions to current global issues.


International Climate Engagement

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

Project Name: International Climate Engagement Name: Alfi Muhamad Project Mentor: Carr Everbach Faculty Advisor: Carol Nackenoff Project board members: Joy Charlton, Melissa Tier, Kyle Richmond-Crosset, Elizabeth Drake, Clare Hyre, Chris ...


New Ways to Love Trees

  • Hope College (MI)

As urbanization rapidly replaces natural forest cover, urban forests are becoming increasingly important because of the ecosystem services they provide. Through the development of the TreeSap app and corresponding educational ...


MaryPIRG Student Climate Action Coalition (MSCAC)

  • University of Maryland, College Park (MD)

The FUTURE Act is a piece of legislation which aims to commit all of Maryland’s Public Universities to carbon neutrality by 2035 or sooner. The legislation was introduced by ...


President's Sustainability Research Fellowship 20-21: ChesterSemesters

  • Swarthmore College (PA)

The 2020-2021 President's Sustainability Research Fellowship ChesterSemester project was conducted by Ananya Bhattacharya '21 over the 2020-2021 Academic Year. The purpose of the project was to support the the ...


Equity, Diversity, Justice, Inclusion Task Force, Catawba College

  • Catawba College (NC)

The Equity, Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion (EDJI) Task Force at Catawba College aims to build a campus community where all members thrive by working to cultivate critical conversations and practices ...


The People’s Fridge- A Community Fridge to Reduce Food Insecurity and Food Waste

  • University of California, Merced (CA)

The People’s Fridge is a community fridge in Merced, California at a local community garden which also holds a free food distribution every Saturday called the Pop-Up People’s ...

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