by Brianna Crandall — September 12, 2018 — The Sustainable Campus Index, recently published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recognizes top-performing colleges and universities overall and in 17 sustainability impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). The report also highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from institutions that submitted STARS reports in the most recent calendar year.
The 2018 Sustainable Campus Index recognizes top-performing colleges and universities overall and in 17 areas, as measured by STARS, and highlights high-impact initiatives. Image courtesy AASHE (Photo credit: Andrew Hart, Hampshire College)
Institutions that achieved the top spot overall according to institution type are:
- Associate Colleges — Nova Scotia Community College
- Baccalaureate Institutions — Dickinson College
- Master’s Institutions — Green Mountain College
- Doctoral Institutions — University of California, Irvine
Institutions that achieved the top spot in each sustainability topic area are listed below. The full list of top performers is provided in the report.
- Curriculum — Green Mountain College
- Research (tie) — University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego
- Campus Engagement — Berea College
- Public Engagement — Colorado State University
- Air and Climate (tie) — Green Mountain College and Université Laval
- Buildings — University of California, Irvine
- Energy — American University
- Food and Dining — Sterling College
- Grounds — Cascadia College
- Purchasing — Macalester College
- Transportation — Columbia University
- Waste — New Mexico State University
- Water — Princeton University
- Coordination and Planning — University of Alberta
- Diversity and Affordability — Stanford University
- Investment and Finance — Green Mountain College
- Well-being and Work — Saint Mary’s College of California
The full list of top performers is provided in the report.
According to AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser:
The institutions featured in this year’s Sustainable Campus Index are making meaningful contributions to sustainability on their campuses and surrounding communities. They illustrate the leadership role higher education can play in contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework developed by AASHE for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. With over 900 participating institutions, STARS is touted as the leading tool for measuring higher education sustainability performance. 164 reports were submitted in the most recent calendar year, resulting in a 27 percent increase over the previous year and a fifth consecutive year of growth. All reports are publicly accessible on the STARS website.
The results from the 2018 Sustainable Campus Index, as well as the Indexes from previous years, are available on the AASHE website.
