Research
Introduction
Conducting research is a major function of many colleges and universities. By researching sustainability issues and refining theories and concepts, higher education institutions can continue to help the world understand sustainability challenges and develop new technologies, strategies, and approaches to address those challenges.
Featured Resources
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
The University’s Role in the Dissemination of Research and Scholarship — A Call to Action
- Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) (DC)
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL), the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), issued ...
- Posted 1 year, 4 months ago
- Publications
- View more
Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies (ROARMAP)
- University of Southampton
The Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies (ROARMAP) is a searchable international registry charting the growth of open access mandates and policies adopted by universities, research institutions and ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Tools
- View more
Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges Membership Required
- Aberystwyth University
- Stellenbosch University (Western Cape)
- Maastricht University
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg
- Arizona State University (AZ)
There is emerging agreement that sustainability challenges require new ways of knowledge production and decision-making. One key aspect of sustainability science, therefore, is the involvement of actors from outside academia ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Publications
- View more
From the Porcupine Caribou to the San Francisco Peaks: Applied Holistic Sustainability in North America Membership Required
- Sierra Nevada College (NV)
A framework of Holistic Sustainability sheds light on understanding past failures and informing present realities that pave the way for future opportunities. The current state of sustainable development is flawed ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Building Change Agent Competencies Through Community-Based Research Membership Required
- Dickinson College (PA)
- Portland State University (OR)
Community-based research (CBR) is a powerful pedagogy that engages students with community partners in authentic research that benefits the community while supporting students' development of change agent competencies and dispositions ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Successes & challenges of a Community-University experiment in local food system development in Southeast Minnesota Membership Required
- Hamline University (MN)
- Shane Stennes (MN)
Highlighting cohort experiences & research outcomes of the Southeast MN Foodshed Planning Initiative (SEFPI), our panel will engage participants in a broader discussion about effective practices for community-university partnerships that ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
New Research About Bin Set-Up to Increase Recycling In Offices Membership Required
- Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IN)
- Keep America Beautiful (CT)
This presentation will review a new study commissioned by Keep America Beautiful that shows how the arrangement recycling and trash bins in office settings can lead to a 20% increase ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
UCLA Action Research Teams: student-staff-faculty collaborative research on campus sustainability Membership Required
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
The UCLA Action Research Team (ART) program is part of the student-led Education for Sustainable Living Program offered for credit through the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Encouraging social norms when there are none: promoting unpopular sustainable behaviors Membership Required
- Michigan State University (MI)
Research has shown the importance that social norms hold in influencing a person's behavior. Our own research has found this positive influence specifically in regards to undergraduate students and ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Measuring and Reducing Campus Nitrogen Footprints Membership Required
- University of Virginia (VA)
- Brown University (RI)
- Colorado State University (CO)
- Eastern Mennonite University (VA)
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
- Dickinson College (PA)
Humans have substantially altered the nitrogen cycle, releasing reactive nitrogen to the environment at an annual rate twice that of natural fluxes. Increased releases of reactive nitrogen have cascading adverse ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Campus Sustainability in Christian Higher Education: Symbolic Value Claims or Substantive Organizational Change? Membership Required
- Carroll University (WI)
Environmental activism about climate change and sustainability-related issues is increasing on conservative Protestant campuses in the U.S. Highly religious Christian students are engaging their peers to increase sustainability awareness ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Teaching and Learning Sustainable Chemistry K-16: From Classroom Application and Analysis to Assessment and Refinement Membership Required
- Colorado State University (CO)
This presentation explores aspects of 'sustainable chemistry.' The research assesses the challenges of 'teaching sustainable chemistry' in K-16 classrooms through an experimental course, CHEM/EDUC580 at Colorado State University with ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Integrating Chemistry and Sustainability Using Guided Inquiry Learning and Project Based Labs Membership Required
- Stony Brook University (NY)
With support from a National Science Foundation (NSF) Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (TUES) grant and working with three colleagues from Stony Brook University's Sustainability ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Institute for Green and Sustainable Science: An EPA model program in cross-disciplinary sustainability education Membership Required
- Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IN)
- Marian University (IN)
The Institute for Green and Sustainable Science (IGSS) is a research, education, and outreach center engaging in the study of sustainability issues, particularly in ecology, green chemistry, and energy science ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Integrating Environmental Issues Into Social Sciences, Business, And Humanities Courses Using Ecological Worldview Principles Membership Required
- University of St. Thomas (MN)
Environmental problems are actually human behavior problems. Social sciences and humanities are important contributors for addressing environmental sustainability as they investigate and explain human behavior. Yet for faculty, integrating sustainability ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Multiple Methods Approach to Exploring Conservation Decision Making on the Farm: From Theory to Application Membership Required
- Shane Stennes (MN)
- University of Minnesota System Office (MN)
Balancing agricultural production and water resource protection is a major challenge across the U.S. In Minnesota, where both water and agriculture are fundamental to the state's heritage, modern ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Tiny House at the Tiny College: Design and Assessment of Sustainable Micro-Housing Alternatives Membership Required
- Randolph College (VA)
The 'Tiny House' movement is an architectural and social phenomenon that promotes simple living in small homes. Depending on the design, a Tiny House may offer a sustainable housing option ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Using Green Chemistry to Introduce and Promote Sustainability in the Chemistry Curriculum and Profession Membership Required
- Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NY)
- St. Olaf College (MN)
- Shane Stennes (MN)
- Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum (MN)
- Beyond Benign (MA)
Through its guiding principles, green chemistry provides a means for introducing topics of sustainability, ethics, and human health and safety into chemistry and related STEM curricula. It is the science ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Thinking Outside the Box: Evidence-based Data Collection for Sustainability Reporting Membership Required
- Chatham University (PA)
- Florida Gulf Coast University (FL)
- University of Colorado Colorado Springs (CO)
- Sustrana LLC (PA)
This session will cover innovative and practical ways to gather meaningful data through real-world, applied scenarios. Specifically, the presenters will share methods for developing accurate heuristics for sustainability reporting in ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Doctoral Program in Sustainability Education: the Student Experience Membership Required
- University of Mount Union (OH)
- Prescott College (AZ)
- Willamette University (OR)
Four recent graduates and a current student will describe their individualized approached to the PhD program in sustainability education. This panel discussion will include graduate experiences, descriptions of their individualized ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Developing Energy Management Programs for a More Sustainable Campus Membership Required
- California State University, Dominguez Hills (CA)
- Enlighted Inc. (CA)
In 2012, California State University Dominguez Hills' Central Plant Manager, Kenny Seeton, was tasked with finding a way to limit energy expenditures on campus in order to meet the university ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Aligning sustainability education with the needs of business Membership Required
- National Council for Science & the Environment (DC)
- International Society of Sustainability Professionals (OR)
How is higher education preparing students to be sustainability professionals? What sustainability skills do businesses look for? How can professional certification help businesses, academics and most importantly, the students themselves ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Undergraduates in a Sustainability Semester: Agency and Structural Change for Sustainability Membership Required
- Goshen College (IN)
- Michigan State University (MI)
Many Sustainability Education (SE) researchers are interested in understanding how our students envision the mechanisms of social change, and how to help them develop capacity to make the change they ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Why students should shower with their phones: The call for shorter showers Membership Required
- University of Rhode Island (RI)
- NORESCO (NC)
Do students know how long they are in the shower? Are students able to mentally time their shower? How can we encourage students to decrease their time in the shower ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Healthy Green Campus: Using Evidence Based Approaches to Integrate Health and Well-being into Campus Sustainability Membership Required
- Harvard University (MA)
- Silent Spring Institute (MA)
The latest research in sustainable development is focused on human health and well-being as a driving force of holistic sustainability efforts, and Harvard University sees this as a critical topic ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Real Food Calculator: Real Metrics, Transparency, & Accountability for Tracking Sustainable Food Procurement Membership Required
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
- Real Food Challenge (NC)
What is just or sustainable food? How do we thoroughly and appropriately assess it in our cafeterias? Dig into the complexities of labels, certifications, and standards for 'real food' as ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Embedding undergraduate-led ecology experiments into temporary public art to transition vacant urban spaces Membership Required
- University of St. Thomas (MN)
- Public Art Saint Paul (MN)
Over 50% of the global population currently lives in urban areas, and 3.2 billion more urban residents are predicted by 2050. Urbanized areas already produce most human-associated carbon emissions ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Sustainable Agriculture Project at Univ of MN Duluth: A Site-Based Land Lab for Sustainability Membership Required
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
This proposal presents multiple perspectives on the creation and use of the Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP). Founded in 2009, the SAP Farm is a site based laboratory for sustainability with ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Bridging the Gap: Building High Performing K-12 Schools That Ready Students for Sustainability in Higher Education Membership Required
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
Healthy school environments are an important part of maintaining the safety, health and well-being of students in their everyday lives in both K-12 and higher education. Higher education institutions have ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Assessing Sustainability Attitudes: A New Multi-Dimensional Measure Membership Required
- Central College (IA)
The rise of sustainability curricula in higher education has coincided with increasing calls for academic assessment, and a variety of tools have been developed to measure sustainability literacy and attitudes ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The effect of Infiltration basins and raingardens to clean snowmelt: An integrative learning project in sustainability Membership Required
- Concordia College (NY)
Infiltration basins and raingardens have growing popularity for their effectiveness as well as being aesthetically pleasing. In 2012, Concordia College in Moorhead, MN put in an infiltration basin in an ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Using Student Research to Motivate Institutional Change Membership Required
- Grinnell College (IA)
We recently took six students on a research trip to Germany to investigate sustainability practices there, with the aim of understanding why Germany is so far ahead of the U ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Post Occupancy Evaluation: A Classic Detective Game Membership Required
- Kirksey (TX)
Buildings everywhere are underperforming relative to the goals they were designed to meet. Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) are an effective method to uncover performance problems through assessments of energy use, indoor ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Caloric Output of Global Agriculture 1961-2012 Membership Required
- University of Arkansas (AR)
It is conventionally suggested that world food production must double to feed world population by mid-century. To evaluate this claim, an inventory of global agricultural production from 1961 to 2012 ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Multi-Decadal Appraisal of the Demotechnic Index: 1980-2012 Membership Required
- University of Arkansas (AR)
The Demotechnic Index (D-Index) is a metric of energy efficiency calculated by summing technological energy use and metabolic energy requirements of a population then dividing by the metabolic energy requirement ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Student Perceptions of the Temporal Domain of Sustainability Membership Required
- University of Arkansas (AR)
Sustainability is 'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. The temporal domain of 'future generations' and thus ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Third Annual AASHE Workshop on Research Methods for Sustainability - Focus on Assessment Membership Required
- University of Arkansas (AR)
AASHE 3rd WORKSHOP ON RESEARCH METHODS FOR SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS ON ASSESSEMENT Building on the success of previous workshops, this year, we have chosen to address methods and techniques that support ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
MinuteEarth: Sustainability Science Education through Online Videos Membership Required
- Shane Stennes (MN)
We propose to discuss the diversity of approaches to sustainability science education. As one example, we will share some of our MinuteEarth videos (https://www.youtube.com/minuteearth) with the ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Stewardship Science: Connecting undergraduate-led sustainability research with community service Membership Required
- University of St. Thomas (MN)
Growing environmental challenges make sustainability science training a pressing educational goal. Given the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of environmental problems, strategies are needed to recruit students with diverse skills to ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
GIS Field Collection to Support a Tree Inventory for Campus Sustainability Membership Required
- University of West Georgia (GA)
To promote sustainability on the University of West Georgia campus a GIS-based field collection application was developed. It is being utilized to collect and maintain characteristics of trees on campus ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Measuring Attitudes of and Engagement with Sustainability on a Conservative Campus Membership Required
- Utah State University (UT)
Having worked within sustainability offices at Utah State University (USU), we have learned the necessity of a knowledge-based approach to encouraging a new environmental ethic. We plan to bring such ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
NEXUS: Demonstration site for biomass greenhouse-heating systems to extend growing seasons for resource-limited farmers. Membership Required
- Appalachian State University (NC)
Appalachian farmers struggle to maintain profitability with limited acreage, low profit margins, small markets and short growing seasons. To extend growing seasons, farmers dedicate some of their acreage to greenhouse ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Developing a Model for a Residential Curbside Organics Collection System in Charleston, SC using the Business Model Canvas Membership Required
- College of Charleston (SC)
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is a brainstorming and innovation tool used by businesses to map and design many different business models and ideas. While initially developed as a tool ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Data Visualization and Benchmarking Tools for Predictive Sustainable Decision-Making at Georgia Tech Membership Required
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
Like many universities, we have a lot of data, but decision-makers do not always know how to interpret it or how to use it to set campus priorities. We also ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
From Pollution to Possibility: A Sustainable Solution to Biodiesel Production Wastewater Membership Required
- Loyola University Chicago (IL)
Biodiesel is often seen as a potential solution to our energy crisis because of its ability to take waste products and convert them into fuel. In Loyola's biodiesel lab ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Regional Sustainability as Social Innovation Membership Required
- Luther College (IA)
This case study will present research on the connections between sustainability and the growing fields of social innovation and collective impact. How do organizations and communities best address complex social ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Putting Biomimicry Thinking into Practice: Lessons learned through an online sustainable design thesis project Membership Required
- Minneapolis College of Art Design (MN)
Biomimicry, the practice of emulating models and strategies in nature, enables designers to see and learn from nature in new ways (Biomimicry Institute). This paper describes the primary learning outcomes ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Creative Assessment Strategies for Learning Outcomes Membership Required
- The Ohio State University (OH)
Setting learning outcomes for student programs is easy, but figuring out how to measure what they learn has been a challenge for us at Ohio State. Come hear how we ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Integrating Research, Learning, and Community: A Curriculum Model for Sustainability Science in Higher Education Membership Required
- University of Alaska Fairbanks (AK)
Are you interested in developing an interdisciplinary course with a research component around an important sustainability issue (i.e. water, energy, food security)? This session provides a working model that ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Case Study Based Research in the Education of Sustainable Architecture Membership Required
- University of Arkansas (AR)
Among the variety of employed methodologies, case study based research has been a commonly utilized approach in law, medicine, and business administration. As with these disciplines, case studies are also ...
- Posted 1 year, 5 months ago
- 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. Additional content and advanced benchmarking tools will be added to this tab over time.
Programs and Initiatives
The following links connect to specific Content Displays on the STARS website (AASHE membership and log-in required).
- Sustainability research inventories
- Methodologies used to complete a research inventory
- Open access policies
Scores
The following link connects to the Score Display on the STARS website (AASHE membership and log-in required).
Research Partners
RRS
Ann Arbor, MIBusiness Affiliate