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.
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Native Bee Conservation: Bridging the Gap Between Research, Sustainability, and Educating the Public
- Central College (IA)
Approximately 85% of flowering plants depend on animals for pollination. Bees, one of the most important pollinator groups, not only enable reproduction of most wild flowering plants, but also play …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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The Best Worst Way to Pick a Sustainability Culture Instrument, and How to do Better Next Time
- University of Northern Colorado (CO)
Sustainability culture can't be measured using using meters or gauges, so community members and researchers need a different kind of instrument. The go-to instruments are surveys to support a better …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Research Findings from the Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN)
- University of Saskatchewan (SK)
The Sustainability and Education Policy Network (SEPN), an international research network, has spent the last six years examining the uptake of sustainability in higher education policy and practice across Canada. …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Bees : How UTSA is Connecting Sustainability and Undergraduate Research Opportunities
- University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)
The University of Texas at San Antonio's newly established Office of Sustainability awarded the department of Environmental Science and Ecology funding for a 3 year program to facilitate the expansion …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Menus of Change University Research Collaborative: Collaboration to Change the Food System
- Boston College (MA)
The MCURC is a working group of scholars and campus dining leaders from invited colleges and universities interested in accelerating efforts to move American consumers-and college/university students, scholars, and staff …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Harvard University's Holistic Approach and Model for a Sustainable Food System
- Harvard University (MA)
The Harvard Office for Sustainability (OFS) convened a multi-disciplinary committee of world-renowned faculty to translate their research into action on campus to create a more sustainable food system that contributes …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Pursuing Sustainability in Education Abroad: Tools & Techniques
- The Education Abroad Network (IL)
Well-designed education abroad programs expose students to the many ways other cultures prioritize and pursue sustainability. Foreign approaches to sustainability, biodiversity, and social justice reveal to students abroad the culturally …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Faculty Sharing Success Stories of Teaching with Paul Hawken's Book DRAWDOWN
- Fort Hays State University (IL)
- Project Drawdown (CA)
CALLING ALL FACULTY: Have you taught with Paul Hawken's best-seller book 'Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming'?? Bring your stories to share during this informal …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Curriculum for (re)Conceptualizing the University Campus as an Ecosystem
- University of Utah (UT)
Can the planning and operations of a university campus be reconceptualized with an ecological and systems approach, viewing the campus environment as analogous to an ecosystem? If so, then an …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Learning to Change the Game: What Should Management Education for Sustainability Look Like?
- Bard College (NY)
- Swarthmore College (PA)
Sustainability requires business to radically reimagine how to keep the lights on, put food on the table, and provide housing, transportation, and education for a population that is headed for …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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How to Measure Success of Sustainability Initiatives Without Traditional Data Sources
- Barnard College (NY)
Have you ever avoided or been turned away from a project because you cannot quantify the results? Or have you implemented initiatives but have no way of determining if they …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Surfacing Unheard Voices: Expressive Invitations for Encouraging Diversity and Creativity in Circles of Innovation
- Prescott College (AZ)
Social incubators, writing circles, and college sustainability curricula all benefit from vibrant diversity for greater innovative power. What are effective ways to invite and liberate expressive diversities? Experience a set …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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The Power of Small Steps: Making Psychology Accessible to Practitioners Through Small Experiments
- University of Michigan (MI)
Campus sustainability offices are often expected to create sustainable, durable cultural change without inconveniencing the students, faculty, or staff at the universities and colleges at which they work. This task …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Collecting Actionable Data Using the Sustainability/Climate Change Survey
- University of Hawaii System Office (HI)
To better understand the campus community's perspectives on climate change, sustainability, and resilience issues, the sustainability office, and the institutional research office administered the first Earth Day Survey in spring, …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Role of Higher Education in the Transition to a Circular Economy
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The transition to a circular economy requires us to transform the way we create products, services and systems and this is necessarily dependent on how individuals, teams and organisations learn …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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How Sustainable & Integrated Design Supports the Vital Mission of the Knight Cancer Institute
- Oregon Health & Science University (OR)
- SRG Partnership, Inc (WA)
- Brightworks Sustainability (OR)
Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) is one of the only universities in the U.S. devoted exclusively to educating medical and public health professionals. The ambitious mission of their new …
- Posted Dec. 4, 2019
- Conference Presentations
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Slow Conferencing: A Recipe for Connection in Troubled Times
- University of Toronto (ON)
The international conference comes at a cost in terms of our carbon footprint, but it also comes at a cost in terms of building broad communities of interest - particularly …
- Posted Dec. 2, 2019
- Publications
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The environmental footprint of academic and student mobility in a large research-oriented university
- McGill University (QC)
- Université de Montréal (QC)
Academic mobility for field work, research dissemination and global outreach is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to the overall environmental footprint of research institutions. Student mobility, while less studied, …
- Posted Dec. 2, 2019
- Publications
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MCURC: Universities Scaling Up Sustainability Together
- The Culinary Institute of America (NY)
- Stanford University (CA)
- AASHE (MA)
The Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC) is a working group of scholars and campus dining leaders from colleges and universities interested in accelerating efforts to move American consumers—and …
- Posted Nov. 13, 2019
- Videos & Webinars
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Identifying effective climate change education strategies: a systematic review of the research
- University of Florida (FL)
Increased interest in climate change education and the growing recognition of the challenges inherent to addressing this issue create an opportunity to conduct a systematic review to understand what research …
- Posted Nov. 6, 2019
- Publications
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Mapping Your Waste Stream and What to Do With It
- College & University Recycling Coalition (DC)
Part of the College and University Recycling Coalition's free webinar series designed to share technical knowledge between program managers, student interns and others involved with promoting waste reduction on college …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2019
- Videos & Webinars
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Research & Innovation to Improve Small Wind Turbines
- Clarkson University (NY)
Ducted Wind Turbine Research - A Clarkson University aeronautical engineering professor, Ken Visser, received assistance from students and the entire campus community to develop and commercialize a ducted wind turbine. …
- Posted July 30, 2019
- Photographs
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The future of sustainability science: a solutions-oriented research agenda
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Portland State University (OR)
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
- University of British Columbia (BC)
- Lund University
- Erasmus University Rotterdam
Over the last decade, sustainability science has been at the leading edge of widespread efforts from the social and natural sciences to produce use-inspired research. Yet, how knowledge generated by …
- Posted July 19, 2019
- Publications
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Humanities for the Environment—A Manifesto for Research and Action
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- University of Oxford
- University of Sydney (NSW)
- Trinity College Dublin (The University of Dublin)
- National Sun Yat-sen University
- National Taiwan University
Human preferences, practices and actions are the main drivers of global environmental change in the 21st century. It is crucial, therefore, to promote pro-environmental behavior. In order to accomplish this, …
- Posted July 19, 2019
- Publications
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Center for Environmental Futures (CEF)
- University of Oregon (OR)
The Center for Environmental Futures (CEF) is an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students that reflects a longstanding investment in environmentalism and social justice at the University of Oregon and …
- Posted June 5, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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The Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale
- Yale University (CT)
The Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale is an international multireligious project. With its conferences, publications, and website, it is engaged in exploring religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in …
- Posted May 22, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Institute for Sustainable Communities
- Texas A&M University (TX)
The Texas A&M Institute for Sustainable Communities serves as a focal point of interdisciplinary sustainable community research, engagement, and high-impact service learning. The Institute is the go-to place for Texas …
- Posted May 22, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Sustainability Research Center (artec) at University of Bremen
- Universität Bremen
Sustainability Research Center (artec) at the University of Bremen is an interdisciplinary center for scientific research on sustainability issues. Researchers come from many different disciplines including Social Sciences, Production Engineering, …
- Posted May 22, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Arizona State University Global Institute of Sustainability
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability is the hub of Arizona State University’s sustainability initiatives. The ASU Wrigley Institute advances research, education and business practices for an urbanizing …
- Posted May 22, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides with Elizabeth Long
- The Ohio State University (OH)
This video provides valuable information about the significance of pollinators, the threats they face, and how individuals may assist in protecting these species. The video discusses the economic value of …
- Posted May 22, 2019
- Videos & Webinars
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CU Boulder Animal Bedding Compost
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
Animal vivariums on college campuses generate a significant amount of animal bedding waste every day. CU Boulder houses only small animal vivariums (mice, rats, etc.). The animal bedding generated at …
- Posted May 20, 2019
- Case Studies
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Rheaply AxM: Making Assets Happy Again
- Rheaply, Inc (IL)
A one minute video depicting the state of resource management in academia, and how circular thinking can be applied to asset management with Rheaply's AxM.
Rheaply’s Asset Exchange Manager (AxM) …
- Posted May 20, 2019
- Videos & Webinars
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A Six Mile-Long Living Laboratory: Publishable Student Research to Foster Sustainability and Resilience in Austin’s Waller Creek
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
Over the past decade, a comprehensive approach to research in Waller Creek—the urban stream that bisects The University of Texas at Austin—was developed by faculty in the College of Natural …
- Posted May 17, 2019
- Publications
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The Fear of Not Flying: Achieving Sustainable Academic Plane Travel in Higher Education Based on Insights from South Australia
- The University of Adelaide (SA)
Universities are both disseminators and producers of the climate knowledge needed to institute the social and cultural change required for climate adaptation and mitigation to occur. They also have the …
- Posted May 15, 2019
- Publications
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Mobilizing transdisciplinary collaborations: collective reflections on decentering academia in knowledge production
- California State University, Long Beach (CA)
- University of Calgary (AB)
- Massey University
- The Nature Conservancy (VA)
Global sustainability challenges and their impact on society have been well-documented in recent years, such as more intense extreme weather events, environmental degradation, as well as ecosystem and biodiversity loss. …
- Posted May 13, 2019
- Publications
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Sustainability Demonstration House Project
- Michigan Technological University (MI)
The goal of the Sustainability Demonstration House (SDH) project is to retrofit the former president’s residence, built in 1953, titled the Kettle-Gundlach Building, into a sustainability demonstration house. The SDH …
- Posted May 7, 2019
- Publications
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Sul Ross State University Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium - Earth Day 2019
- Sul Ross State University (TX)
Sul Ross State University's second annual undergraduate and graduate research symposium was held on Earth Day, April 22, 2019, with special recognition awarded to those presenting on sustainability-related topics. Among …
- Posted May 5, 2019
- Photographs
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The Biomimicry Institute
- Biomimicry Institute (MT)
The Biomimicry Institute utilizes sustainable models from nature to develop creative solutions to modern sustainability issues. The institute offers educational resources to educators, organizations, and individuals. The Institute offers aims …
- Posted May 5, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies
- Montclair State University (NJ)
The PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies supports transdisciplinary research and community projects that grow more resilient communities worldwide. From climate change research in New Jersey, to energy studies in Vietnam …
- Posted May 5, 2019
- Research Centers & Institutes
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Learning to Navigate (in) the Anthropocene
- KU Leuven
Over the last decades, the extent of human impact on Earth and the atmosphere has been the subject of large-scale scientific investigations. It is increasingly argued that this impact is …
- Posted April 29, 2019
- Publications
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International perspectives on the pedagogy of climate change
- Purchase College - State University of New York (NY)
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
- Prince Sultan University (Riyadh)
- Universidad de Sonora (Sonora)
- University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz
Education is key to the advancement of environmental sustainability. Climate change education is a complex topic where a number of factors play key roles. One such factor, namely the ongoing …
- Posted April 29, 2019
- Publications
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"A Sustainable Second Century "
- American University in Cairo (Cairo)
The Office of Sustainability kick off AUC’s EarthWeek, an annual event celebrating international Earth Day. This year’s theme is EarthWeek: A Sustainable Second Century, focusing on the Past, Present, and …
- Posted April 29, 2019
- Photographs
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Connecting Sustainability Competences and Pedagogical Approaches
- AASHE (MA)
- Tecnológico de Monterrey (Nuevo Leon)
Research into and practice of Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) have been increasing during the last two decades. These have focused on providing sustainability education to future generations of …
- Posted March 11, 2019
- Videos & Webinars
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Universities responding to the call for sustainability: A typology of sustainability centres
- University of Helsinki
Universities worldwide are experiencing a growing trend to respond to the need for sustainability. Sustainability centres are one key aspect in the sustainability transitions of universities. Until currently, these centres …
- Posted March 4, 2019
- Publications
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The Challenges of Sustainability Education
- St. Thomas University (FL)
Abstract: Sustainability has become a growing imperative in higher education in the United States of America (Calder & Dautremont-Smith, 2009). This paper examines sustainability education as it continues to emerge …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2019
- Publications
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Changing evangelical minds on climate change
- Dallas Baptist University (TX)
- Houghton College (NY)
- Tyndale University College & Seminary (ON)
One quarter of Americans self-identify as evangelical and a strong majority of these reject human-induced climate change. Can one lecture on climate science from a Christian perspective change their minds? …
- Posted Feb. 25, 2019
- Publications
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Creating an academic landscape of sustainability science: an analysis of the citation network
- University of Tokyo
Sustainability is an important concept for society, economics, and the environment, with thousands of research papers published on the subject annually. As sustainability science becomes a distinctive research field, it …
- Posted Feb. 25, 2019
- Publications
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Campus Energy and Sustainability Podcast Episode 16: Reducing Waste and Increasing Reuse in Labs at Northwestern University
- Northwestern University (IL)
- Rheaply, Inc (IL)
Julie Cahillane, Sustainability Associate Director at Northwestern University and Dr. Garry Cooper, adjunct professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and CEO/Co-founder of Rheaply, Inc..
In this conversation, learn …
- Posted Feb. 14, 2019
- Videos & Webinars
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Mascaro Research SEED Grants
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) at the University of Pittsburgh provides annual SEED grants for interdisciplinary sustainability education and research initiatives. The goals of the grants are: (1) …
- Posted Feb. 7, 2019
- Green Funds
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About the Triggering of UN Sustainable Development Goals and Regenerative Sustainability in Higher Education
- Università degli Studi di Torino
- Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
Humans are at the center of global climate change: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are igniting sustainability with proactive, global, social goals, moving us away from the Brundtland …
- Posted Jan. 25, 2019
- Publications
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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.
AC 9: Research & Scholarship
- Percent of research employees that conduct sustainability research
- Percent of research departments that conduct sustainability research
- Sustainability research inventory (upload)
- Sustainability research inventory (description)
- Website URL - Sustainability research
AC 9: Support for Sustainability Research
- Description of the student sustainability research program
- Description of the academic staff sustainability research program
- Website URL - Support for sustainability research
AC 10: Open Access to Research
- Website URL - Open access repository
- Open access policy (upload)
- Open access policy (description)
- Description of the open access article processing charge (APC) fund
- Description of the open access journal hosting services
- Website URL - Support for open access
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.