Wellbeing & Work
Introduction
An institution’s people define its character and capacity to perform; and so, an institution’s achievements can only be as strong as its community. An institution can bolster the strength of its community by offering benefits, wages, and other assistance that serve to respectfully and ethically compensate workers and by acting to protect and positively affect the health, safety and wellbeing of the campus community.
Featured Resources
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
Sustainability in the Workplace: Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum of Human Resources and Industrial Relations
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Organizations throughout the world are shifting to sustainable practices. They recognize that their long-term success depends not only on their economic performance, but also on their social and environmental performance. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student Summit Closing - Leading an Impact Life: Landing a Green Job and Speaking Truth to Power
- Bard College (NY)
- AASHE (MA)
How can I get a job saving the planet? Keynote speaker Dr. Eban Goodstein will detail a strategy on how to build the sustainability career you want, in the place …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Old Dogs, New Tricks: Lessons Learned While Shifting Roles In The Higher Education Sustainability World
- California State University, East Bay (CA)
- Gonzaga University (WA)
Sustainability in higher education continues to grow as a career, academic pursuit, and institutional priority. As more schools hire and retain sustainability professionals to coordinate programs, incumbents for new or …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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What should a Specialty Certification for Higher Educational Sustainability Practitioners look like?
- Oakland Community College (MI)
- International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) (OR)
This highly interactive session is focused on collecting input from participants on a specialty certification for a sustainability practitioner in higher education. The session will begin with an overview of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Healthy Green Campus: Using Evidence Based Approaches to Integrate Health and Well-being into Campus Sustainability
- 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 Feb. 26, 2016
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EcoLeaders Community Supports Student Sustainability Projects & Helps Build Career Skills to be Competitive in the Workforce
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
National Wildlife Federation's EcoLeaders Initiative is a sustainability leadership certification program for college students. EcoLeaders features the first web-based community to provide students with the virtual space to initiate projects …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Self care for sustainability leaders: Insightful perspectives and innovative practices
- Portland State University (OR)
A shift toward a more connected, collaborative, and relational way of leading for sustainability requires leaders who can sustain themselves in the midst of challenging work. Self care involves slowing …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Self-Care, Resiliency and Emotional Intelligence Into Your Sustainability Career and Advocacy
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Sustainability issues have reached a critical peak of importance. We need all hands on deck to address the urgent goals of environmental justice by utilizing the best political and personal …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Professional Skills in Sustainability
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The practice of professional sustainability requires critical competencies that focus on teamwork, communication, project management and stakeholder engagement. A one-credit hour course which highlights these critical professional competencies in sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Officers: The Dream, The Sometimes Harsh Reality, The Reasons You Want Us on Your Leadership Team (Video Shoot!)
- Green Mountain College (VT)
Vanishing budgets, departmental silos, outdated policies, lack of training, lack of access to decision-makers, skewed perceptions of what our jobs entail sustainability officers face serious challenges in the highly dynamic …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing Sustainability Leaders - Skills and Experiences from a Leadership Development Program for Graduate Students
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
In this workshop participants will both experience and learn about a cutting-edge leadership development program for graduate students. The Boreas Leadership Program, at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities's Institute …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability meets employability: developing career readiness skills in our students
- University of South Carolina (SC)
At the University of South Carolina we've developed a high impact coaching program for students to develop skills employers seek, while working on projects to further the impact of sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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ISSP - International Society of Sustainability Professionals - Networking
- International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) (OR)
The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) Networking Meeting is a chance for ISSP members to gather and exchange information. It is also an opportunity of AASHE conference attendees that …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Life After College: Speed Networking with Peers and Graduates
- Macalester College (MN)
This networking event will allow students to build relationships with peers and small groups of recent graduates. Participants will first ask predetermined conversation starters regarding their own work or interests …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Connecting Health and Sustainability at Macalester College
- Macalester College (MN)
Typically health and sustainability are considered separate topics at colleges with separate missions and staff. This presentation will highlight how the Sustainability Office and wellness staff have collaborated at Macalester …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Pre conference Officer's Workshop - Leadership Essentials - Strategic Planning
- Stanford University (CA)
This workshop will focus on one of the key leadership and professional development skills - strategic planning. 'Strategic direction' is referred to as directions to position an organization to be …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Storytelling: The Buzzword That Can Actually Get You A Job
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
Your last year of school looms ahead, perhaps even that dreaded G word in May. All those times your advisors tried to convince you to follow their career path, or …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Degrees to Careers: A Case Study on How Letting Students Work with Professionals Prepares them for Life After Graduation
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
In the Spring of 2014, a group of students from various disciplines at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities partook in the DOE Challenge Home Student Design Competition. Throughout the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Integrating sustainability education and workforce development: filling the gaps in research and education
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
The green economy remains a poorly defined and it remains unclear what a green economy would look like. The most optimistic outlooks argue that it will be built on a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Revisioning Development of Professional Skills in Graduate University Programs
- University of Saskatchewan (SK)
Within the pedagogical community, a problem exists about how to train specialists who are academically qualified and creative, and how to provide students with more opportunities to develop a broader …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Including Wellness in the Sustainability Model: A five-year case study
- Bemidji State University (MN)
It is unique to include “wellness” as a component of sustainability. This presentation will describe the visual model we have been using at Bemidji State University since 2009. My introduction …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Role of Sustainability Offices in Career & Workforce Development
- College of Charleston (SC)
- Connecticut College (CT)
- University of Georgia (GA)
- Wake Forest University (NC)
- University of Vermont (VT)
Sustainability offices are in a unique position on campus. With the ability to work across departmental boundaries of campus on sustainability initiatives, our offices can provide professional development opportunities for …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Philosophy, Blisters, Sustainability: Deep Thinking and Dirty Hands
- Wright State University (OH)
The typical recruiter doesn’t use a line like, roll up your sleeves, come work on our campus to entice students to select their school but with an increased emphasis on …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Constructed Places, Contemplation and Wellness
- University of Virginia (VA)
Mindfulness and other contemplative practices are beginning to thrive in college classrooms and campuses across the country. The quest for health and wellness is a priority for students living in …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Next Steps to Becoming a Certified Sustainable Resource Management Professional
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
This meeting is designed as a follow-up to AASHE Professional Development webinar, "Becoming a Certified Sustainable Resource Management Professional, “scheduled for Wed., Oct. 22. It will welcome individuals attending the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Strengthening Rural Community Health through Collaboration
- Black Hills State University (SD)
Nestled in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, Spearfish is a small town of about 10,000 and home to Black Hills State University (BHSU). BHSU is spearheading a community-wide …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustaining Self: Prioritizing Personal Well-Being
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
Sustainability professionals need to do a better job of taking care of themselves. Far too many in our field routinely push themselves to an emotional and physical limit, due largely …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Health Promotion: a vehicle for partnerships
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
Public Health and Health Promotion on campus is uniquely positioned to partner and provide leadership on sustainability goals for higher education. Through a public health lens, we can offer support …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Advancing Student-Led Community-Based Health Equity Research: CPHE
- Portland State University (OR)
Since 2009, the Community Partnership for Health and Equity (CPHE), an interdisciplinary group of students, faculty, and community leaders, has focused on promoting social sustainability in the Portland, OR metropolitan …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Preparing for the Real World: Kickstarting Your Sustainability Career Pathway
- Northwestern University (IL)
- University of Vermont (VT)
While students will still have to determine the exact career they would like to pursue, and maybe pick out what they will wear on interview day, at the end of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Food Bikes: Mobile Food That’s Low Capital, Low Footprint
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
The Food Bikery seeks to prove that food bikes are a safe, legal, low-capital, and low-footprint alternative to food trucks. In transitioning mobile food off of trucks and onto bicycles, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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At the Intersection of Wellness and Sustainability is your Worksite
- Lane Community College (OR)
This workshop will define the links between worksite wellness and sustainability. Employees spend a large portion of their daily lives at work. Workplace wellness is a key element in the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustaining and Growing Yourself as a Professional in a Changing Workplace, Building a Community of Change
- U.S. Green Building Council (DC)
- Clean Air-Cool Planet (NH)
- Trust for Sustainable Development (BC)
The workshop is presented in two parts. Part one will briefly review the current research on workplace dynamics and gender roles. Participants will respond to a series of questions which …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Student Learning-Centered Launch to a Healthy and Sustainable Campus Initiative at Woodbury University
- Woodbury University (CA)
In fall of 2013, Woodbury University launched an initiative to make campus practices and culture measurably sustainable by AASHE STAR standards. Sustainability at Woodbury would be built within the university’s …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Reclaiming the Urban Forest for Food, Medicine and Ceremony: A Collaborative Process
- Portland State University (OR)
American Indian and Alaska Native communities suffer from the highest rates of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the country. This project seeks to address the impact of colonization/industrialization …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Galvanizing Gaia: A Social Incubator for Women Leaders and Innovators (2014)
- Prescott College (AZ)
Two ecopreneurship professors create a supportive context for women sustainability entrepreneurs and campus program innovators to move from idea to action with their regenerative project ideas. This dynamic half-day workshop …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Changing the Rules: How to Get Your Green Job
- Bard College (NY)
The planet needs saving, and you need a job. What is your first step? Eban Goodstein, Director of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, will discuss getting started in a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Practice! Applied Yoga for a Just and Sustainable World
- Evergreen State College, The (WA)
Learning about the dire conditions of the world through sustainability studies can be an overwhelming and painful process for college students. For the past several years, I have been experimenting …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Using Health Care Funds to Support Employee CSAs and Food Education
- Luther College (IA)
The college’s most recent health risk assessment found that 43% of employees do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Recognizing the positive health impacts associated with increased …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Pathways to Leadership: Sustainability & Career Development
- Princeton University (NJ)
As college students increasingly aspire toward careers that allow them to make a difference in the world, campus sustainability programs are uniquely positioned to provide enduring student leadership and career …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability & Wellness Month: A replicable outreach campaign to encourage healthy, sustainable behaviors on campus.
- University of Virginia (VA)
The University of Virginia’s Hoo’s Well wellness team partnered with the Office for Sustainability to develop an outreach campaign to encourage behavior changes that benefit people and the planet. By …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Want to be a Sustainability Professional? Lessons from Recent Graduate Sustainability Program Alumni & Experienced Professionals
- Lipscomb University (TN)
Abstract: Due to the relatively recent phenomenon of sustainability professions and the recent emergence of Master of Science or MBA degrees with an emphasis in sustainability, unique insights will be …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Nature-Based Therapeutic Service: Mutual Healing for Individuals and the Environment
- Prescott College (AZ)
Educators, counselors, and sustainability advocates are all looking for ways to infuse purposeful and memorable experiences into their work All seek ways to create progress and lasting change in learning, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Hospital and Lab Sustainability
- Medical University of South Carolina (SC)
This session will consider unique ideas and give unique information on how to green university hospitals and labs. I will outline how the Medical University of South Carolina has tackled …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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New Kid on the Block: How Our University Launched its New Sustainability Program
- University of North Texas (TX)
Each year more and more universities and campuses realize the importance of sustainability as seen by the growth of sustainability programs, academic degrees and certifications, and professionals employed in higher …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Happiness: A Vital Part of Sustainability
- University of Michigan (MI)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that, “We need a new economic paradigm that recognizes the parity between the three pillars of sustainable development. Social, economic and environmental well-being are …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Enhancing Social Sustainability on Campus: Starting a Happiness Initiative in Your Community
- University of Michigan (MI)
In 2011, a nonprofit called The Happiness Initiative (Seattle, WA), launched a survey measuring well-being of residents of Seattle. To their surprise, they found that the college-aged responders were the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Social Life of Smartphones
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Our institution has taken a unique approach to education and outreach initiatives by deliberately highlighting the social aspects of sustainability, fostering the power of storytelling to elicit emotional responses in …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Plenary: Sustainability and Sound
- Brown University (RI)
- Florida State University (FL)
- University of North Carolina, Greensboro (NC)
This plenary will provide a brief introduction to the emerging field of ecomusicology followed by a discussion of some key issues as they relate to higher education. The three expert …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Intersection of Sustainability Education and the Job Market
- Lipscomb University (TN)
- Footprint Talent (GA)
The Intersection of Sustainability Education and the Job Market session will educate university staff and students on what employers are looking for from recent sustainability graduates.
Eryn Emerich of Footprint …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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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 12: Employee Compensation
- Local living wage for a family of 4
- Percent of employees that receive a living wage
- Living wage policy or commitment
- Website URL - Employee compensation
PA 13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction
- Methodology for evaluating employee satisfaction and engagement
- Website URL - Assessing employee satisfaction
PA 14: Wellness program
- Description of the institution’s wellness program
- Smoke-free policy (upload)
- Smoke-free policy (description)
- Website URL - Wellness programs
PA 14: Workplace Health & Safety
- Annual number of employee work-related injury incidents per 100 FTE employees
- Website URL - Workplace health and safety
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.