by Brianna Crandall — November 9, 2016 — The 2016 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recognizes top-performing colleges and universities overall and in 17 distinct aspects of sustainability, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). This report also highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from institutions that submitted STARS reports in the 12 months prior to July 1, 2016.
Institutions that achieved the top spot overall on the Sustainable Campus Index according to institution type include:
- Master’s institutions: Appalachian State University
- Doctoral/research institutions: Colorado State University
- Baccalaureate institutions: Green Mountain College
- Associate colleges: Kankakee Community College
Institutions that achieved the top spot in each sustainability topic area are listed below:
- Purchasing: Arizona State University
- Air & Climate: Colby College
- Public Engagement, Waste, Diversity & Affordability: Colorado State University
- Transportation: Columbia University
- Curriculum: Green Mountain College
- Buildings, Water: Stanford University
- Food & Dining: Sterling College
- Investment & Finance: Unity College
- Energy: University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Multiple institutions tied for first in the areas of Campus Engagement, Coordination & Planning, Grounds, Research, and Wellbeing & Work. The full list of top performers is provided in the report.
AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser commented:
The institutions and initiatives featured in this year’s Sustainable Campus Index showcase the great work that higher education institutions are doing to lead the global sustainability transformation. I hope the contents of this report will inspire students, administrators, faculty and staff at colleges and universities to work together to implement innovative solutions to the challenges that we face today.
STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance developed by AASHE. With nearly 800 participating institutions, STARS is a leading tool for measuring higher education sustainability performance. 124 reports were submitted in the most recent calendar year, resulting in an 11 percent increase over the previous year and a third consecutive year of growth. All reports are publicly accessible on the STARS Web site.
AASHE’s 2016 Sustainable Campus Index is available for free download on the AASHE Web site.
