Coordination & Planning
Introduction
Staff and other resources help an institution organize, implement, and publicize sustainability initiatives. These resources provide the infrastructure that fosters sustainability within an institution. Sustainability planning affords an institution the opportunity to clarify its vision of a sustainable future, establish priorities and help guide budgeting and decision making.
Featured Resources
New Resources
AASHE Member Discount: 100% Off Navigator BASIC, An All-In-One Digital Platform
- Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (MA)
SPLC is announcing today the public availability of the SPLC Navigator - an all-in-one digital platform providing sustainable procurement measurement, benchmarking, performance tracking, targeted actions and supporting resources to drive program ...
- Posted May 10, 2024
- Tools
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Working Toward a Clean Energy Future: CSUF Presents Second Energy and Sustainability Summit
- California State University, Fullerton (CA)
As Orange County works toward its climate goals, Cal State Fullerton is committed to advancing clean energy for the future, providing students with hands-on research opportunities and partnering with local ...
- Posted May 9, 2024
- Photographs
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Community Clean Up on Houbolt Road
- Joliet Junior College (IL)
Joliet Junior College had a clean up on the road outside of the school. We invited 15 different businesses along the road and had 5 sign up, including a visit ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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Romeoville Repair Cafe at Joliet Junior College
- Joliet Junior College (IL)
Joliet Junior College is a registered international Repair Cafe! We had our first Repair Cafe of the year and our on April 13th, we had our very first one for ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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KAUST SDG Highlight Report 2023
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Makkah)
KAUST proudly presents its latest SDG Highlight Report, offering a snapshot of the institution's targeted efforts and successes over 2023 in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Publications
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Rice University Earth Month Kick-Off Festival 2024
- Rice University (TX)
Rice University's Office of Sustainability hosted an Earth Month Kick-Off Festival in the Rice Memorial Center. The event featured over 20 campus and community organizations and drew over 150 ...
- Posted May 6, 2024
- Photographs
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USC Sustainability Town Hall
- University of Southern California (CA)
Students gather in the USC Sustainability Hub to hear from a panel of speakers provide updates on campus sustainability efforts.
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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PCC Earth Week 2024
- Portland Community College (OR)
We celebrated Earth Week at Portland Community College (PCC) with over 30 events throughout the week! We hosted tours and planting parties in our on-campus Learning Gardens, upcycling workshops in ...
- Posted April 30, 2024
- Photographs
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Beat the Hell Outta (BTHO) Climate Change
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Texas A&M University students learn from over 20 campus and community organizations at a Campus Earth Day event in Rudder Plaza to earn a BTHO Climate Change t-shirt.
- Posted April 23, 2024
- Photographs
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Sustainability: Learning and Teaching in the Business Education Context
- Mahidol University (Bangkok)
Business schools worldwide are integrating sustainability into their curricula, yet a gap persists in understanding students' perspectives on these courses' effectiveness in preparing for sustainability challenges. This study investigates undergraduate ...
- Posted April 10, 2024
- Publications
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ACE Webinar: How your Institution can Save Money and Fight Climate Change
- Second Nature (MA)
- American Council on Education (DC)
Colleges and universities can now tap into significant cost savings and boost sustainability efforts thanks to new clean energy tax credits included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
ACE hosted ...
- Posted April 3, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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Penn Sustainability FY23 Annual Report
- University of Pennsylvania (PA)
The Penn Sustainability Office has released the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0 FY23 Annual Report, based on data and metrics for fiscal year 2023 gathered from across many ...
- Posted April 3, 2024
- Publications
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‘SDGs at Work’ – Building SDG Awareness and Engagement Through Work-Integrated Learning
- AASHE (MA)
- University of Waterloo (ON)
Increasingly, higher education institutions (HEIs) are being measured on their contributions towards advancing the U.N. SDGs. Institutionally, there is growing focus on graduating global citizens who can advocate for ...
- Posted March 28, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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The HBCU Climate Action Blueprint
- United Negro College Fund (GA)
Released at the 2024 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit, “The HBCU Climate Action Blueprint: Sustainable Campuses, Empowered Communities” explores the current activities and future aspirations of Historically Black Colleges and ...
- Posted March 19, 2024
- Publications
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Certifying High-Performing and Sustainable Parking Structures on Campus: A Parksmart Workshop
- AASHE (MA)
- International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) (VA)
Parksmart is the world’s only certification program that defines, measures, and recognizes high-performing, sustainable garages. Developed by industry experts, Parksmart offers a roadmap for new and existing parking facilities ...
- Posted March 13, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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How To Accelerate Your Institution’s Scope 3 Emissions Reductions
- Catawba College (NC)
- AASHE (MA)
- GreenPlaces (NC)
With campus leaders facing mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions, many institutions are struggling to measure and manage scope 3 emissions. Data collection is highly manual, and many institutions simply ...
- Posted March 6, 2024
- Videos & Webinars
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The Rocky Path to MSU's Campus Sustainability Framework
- Montana State University (MT)
In 2021, Montana State University pivoted away from a static Sustainability Plan, instead adopting the MSU Sustainability Framework, which consists of three long term sustainability targets and a new high-level ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Paving the Way to a Living Plan: CSUN's Road Map to Sustainability 2033
- California State University, Northridge (CA)
CSUN introduced its 10-year sustainability plan in June 2023, following a year-long collaboration with consultants. What sets this plan apart is the implementation of innovative sustainability tracking software, which transforms ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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STARS Town Hall
- California State University, Chancellor's Office (CA)
- The New School (NY)
- AASHE (MA)
The STARS Town Hall, hosted by AASHE staff and STARS Steering Committee members, provides an opportunity to learn about the most significant changes planned for STARS 3.0 and ask ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Small but Mighty: Designing Micro Projects for Outsized Impact
- Davidson College (NC)
- East Carolina University (NC)
- University of Georgia (GA)
Small-scale projects can feel like a distraction. With limited resources and unlimited potential projects, focusing on big picture priorities like reducing emissions or improving waste diversion rates makes sense. However ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Leveling Up Sustainability Funds for Strategic Goals and Bigger Impact
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
- McGill University (QC)
In today's rapidly changing world, sustainability initiatives have become paramount for higher education institutions. As universities embrace their responsibility to lead by example, the management of campus sustainability funds ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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UBC Okanagan Climate Action Plan 2030 - The Impact of Collective Action
- University of British Columbia Okanagan (BC)
In December 2019, UBC declared a climate emergency, which included a commitment to accelerate the reduction of emissions at UBC. A key step is UBC Okanagan’s development of a ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Finished the Climate Action Plan - Now What?
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
- University of Minnesota System Office (MN)
Climate action plans can be a big endeavor, but really they are only the first step in the process. Now what? Join colleagues to discuss how they advanced priorities (or ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Zero Waste Strategic Visioning & Planning
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
Zero Waste Strategic Visioning & Planning provides an opportunity for participants to explore the challenges and opportunities with facilitating a campus-wide strategic visioning and planning process. This will be a ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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COP28 Dubai Climate Conference - Delegation Organizers or Members
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Meet and learn about the plans and interests of other faculty, academic staff or students who are organizing or participating in University or other delegations to the Climate Conference known ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Who Owns the Campus Forest? A Tree Campus Conversation
- Arbor Day Foundation (NE)
Trees play a critical role in creating healthier, safer, and more connected communities. They clean our air, filter our water, and even slow storm surge and flooding in our cities ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Progress Not Perfection: How to Tell Your Story Along the Way
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
- Colorado State University (CO)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
Communicating about sustainability initiatives and climate action can be hard. Sharing your story about climate neutrality goals, engagement initiatives, and small victories throughout a project can be even more challenging ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Shooting for the STARS: An Introduction From Liftoff to Landing
- Iowa State University (IA)
- AASHE (MA)
This session will provide an introduction to STARS and how it can be used to advance sustainability at your institution. We’ll provide “mission training” with an overview of the ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Data Dashboards for Beginners: How & Why to Start
- American University (DC)
- University of Maryland, College Park (MD)
American University (AU) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) are coming together to present on lessons-learned while developing sustainability-data focused Tableau dashboards for the public. The session will ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Thriving as a Sustainable Leader: Creating a Personalized Resiliency Plan
- Lebanon Valley College (PA)
In this session, we will examine the leadership challenges and opportunities that are specific to the intersection of sustainability and social justice work, including how external stressors have become more ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Washington Oregon Cascadia Higher Education Sustainability Consortium (WOHESC) Networking Session
- Portland State University (OR)
This session will be for higher ed sustainability professionals, faculty, students and sustainability professionals from the Washington Oregon and Cascadia region to gather, report our successes, share our perspectives, problem ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium Meet-Up
- Tufts University (MA)
The Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium support sustainability officers in advancing education about and demonstration of sustainable systems on university campuses in the northeast United States and Canadian maritime region by ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Growing Your People: Advancing Sustainability Through Employee Empowerment
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (NY)
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
Learn how to harness the potential of existing employees to help further your organization’s sustainability goals by designing thriving Green Ambassador & professional development programs that empower employees to ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Mentorship in Higher Education Sustainability
- Emerson College (MA)
Sustainability Offices are typically small and operate in unique and sometimes challenging organizational structures, leaving staff feeling isolated while managing huge organizational change efforts. Sustainability staff from American University and ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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NAU’S 2022 True-Blue Summer Flex Policy: Financial, Human, and Environmental Sustainability
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
In 2022, Northern Arizona University (NAU) implemented a "New NAU workplace" policy, which included True-Blue Summer Fridays, a hybrid-first strategy, and flexible core business hours. The True-Blue Summer Friday program ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Collaborative Sustainability: Unlocking the Power of Scope 3 Partnerships
- Follett Corporation (IL)
- GreenPlaces (NC)
With time running out on climate commitments, many institutions struggle with addressing Scope 3 emissions. Data collection is highly manual, and many institutions simply don’t know where to start ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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What Greenhouse Gas Inventories Tell Us About our Carbon Goals
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
Decarbonizing college campuses is an important step in reducing net global emissions. It is also important to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at universities because of the role colleges play ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Carbon Budget Implementation at University of Gothenburg: Meeting the -50% CO2e Goal
- University of Gothenburg
The session will describe how the University of Gothenburg decided to meet the challenge of reducing the CO2-emissions by implementing a carbon budget at faculty level. Working together with a ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Sustainability Skills for Knowledge Workers in Tertiary Education
- Mahidol University (Bangkok)
In this project, we designed a comprehensive training project aiming at equipping staff members at our higher education institution with essential sustainability skills. In today's world, environmental, social, and ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Reporting the Institution’s Impact on Climate Change & Sustainability Reporting
- American University in Cairo (Cairo)
In 2012, the American University in Cairo (AUC) was one of the first higher education institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to produce a Carbon Footprint ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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From Ideas to Action: Using the STARS Reporting Process to Develop a Strategic Plan
- Brailsford & Dunlavey (DC)
Congratulations! You’ve completed a STARS Report! Now what?! The value of the STARS reporting process is more than earning a STARS Rating. Relationships built, data collected, and key insights ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Global Standards Sustainability Reporting for Higher Education
- University of Texas at Arlington (TX)
- ISOS Group
Higher education has a unique role to lead sustainability innovation across our campuses nationally and internationally. Reporting can help universities and organizations understand and manage their positive and negative impacts ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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In Pursuit of Platinum: Trust and Change (on a Timeline)
- George Washington University (DC)
In June 2020, the GW Board of Trustees Task Force on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Responsibility published a report stating the university’s commitment to taking swift and decisive ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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SustainEDU: Empowering Ecuador's Campuses for a Greener Tomorrow
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Pichincha)
This session will contribute to HEIs and campus sustainability professionals in settings where formal sustainability planning and institutional frameworks are nascent, providing insights on how to foster sustainability networking, leverage ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Shared Support Services as a Strategy for Promoting Sustainability at CSU Campuses
- California State University, Chancellor's Office (CA)
At the CSU, our unit's work impacts the lives of more than half a million students across the CSU system as well as more than 55,000 faculty and ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Advancing Sustainability in Higher Education: Two Proposals
- American Council on Education (DC)
- Global Council for Science and the Environment (MD)
Sustainability curriculum is rapidly evolving and expanding across higher education: in Gen Ed, through the AASHE Centers for Sustainability Across the Curriculum, in the creation of new degrees and certificates ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Making the Most of External Sustainability Assessments: Comparing STARS, UIR and QS
- Arizona State University (AZ)
At Arizona State University (ASU), we consider external assessments a critical tool for measuring and advancing our sustainability progress. However, we also understand the challenges of managing, navigating and interpreting ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Facilitation for Organizational Change
- Boston University (MA)
- Trust (MA)
One of the most important, yet often underappreciated, skill sets of any profession is the ability to be a strong group meeting facilitator. The role of a facilitator is the ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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A Collaborative Approach to Scale Climate Action In Boston
- Boston University (MA)
- Emerson College (MA)
- Boston Green Ribbon Commission (MA)
- Trust (MA)
Rapidly changing regulations that limit carbon emissions from large buildings in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston require adjustments to energy procurement, building plans, and site management ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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Leveraging STARS to Advance your Sustainability Goals and strategies
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
- GreenerU (MA)
AASHE STARS inventorying, analysis, and submission is a lengthy and complex process—one that can be all-consuming for an institution. But one of the purposes of STARS is to provide ...
- Posted Feb. 21, 2024
- Conference Presentations
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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 1: Sustainability Coordination
- Description of the sustainability committee(s)
- Description of the sustainability office(s)
- Description of activities and accomplishments of the institution-wide coordinating body or officer during the previous three years
- First sustainability position (upload)
- First sustainability position (text)
- Second sustainability position (upload)
- Second sustainability position (text)
- Third sustainability position (upload)
- Third sustainability position (text)
- Website URL - Sustainability Coordination
PA 2: Sustainability Coordination
- Published measurable objectives - Academics
- Published measurable objectives - Engagement
- Published measurable objectives - Operations
- Published measurable objectives - Planning & Administration
- Website URL - Highest Guiding Strategic Plan
- Sustainability plan (upload)
- Sustainability plan (website URL)
- Website URL - Sustainability planning
PA 3: Sustainability Coordination
- Description of participatory or shared governance bodies
- Percent of official members of the highest governing body that are women
- Website URL - Institution’s highest level governing body
- Description of campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions
- Website URL - Institutional governance body
PA 4: Reporting Assurance
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.