STARS: A Global Standard for Advancing Campus Sustainability

An effective and transformative framework for many institutions in prioritizing and implementing sustainability is the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS®). STARS offers a comprehensive way to measure, track, benchmark, and improve sustainability performance across all dimensions of educational institutions. Using indicators in operations, engagement, governance, and academic programs, STARS offers campuses a comprehensive and meaningful path for advancing sustainability and helps educational institutions prioritize and implement sustainability initiatives more easily. This column will explain how.

Understanding STARS

STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to gauge relative progress toward sustainability. It maps the ecosystem of educational institution sustainability through its four main categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning and Administration. Each category includes impact areas and indicators for benchmarking and assessing progress. Given the breadth and depth of sustainability, STARS also includes a fifth category—Innovation and Leadership—that captures innovative solutions to sustainability challenges, recognizing institutions for sustainability leadership in ways not otherwise captured in STARS. The system is designed to be flexible and accessible, accommodating institutions globally of all sizes and types while encouraging continual improvement.

STARS is an easy and free entry point for any campus to engage in sustainability. This is particularly appealing given the budgetary constraints faced by so many educational institutions today. STARS is completely free for any institution to use. If an institution wishes to announce its progress publicly, there is a fee to become STARS-rated (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum). One of the benefits of paying to use STARS is the ability to benchmark against peer institutions.

As educational institutions are often used as educational testbeds, there is a compelling case for institutions to assess, then adopt, an ethos of sustainability, not just to “do the right thing” but to remain relevant and appealing to prospective students. The Princeton Review polled 8,800 applicants for its 2023 College Hopes & Worries Survey. The data revealed that 69 percent of respondents said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend the school. Of that cohort, 28 percent said such information would contribute “very much” or “strongly” to such a decision.

Continuous Improvement

In June of this year, STARS version 3.0 was released. It features streamlined performance-based credits, a greater scope of indicators, and increased global accessibility, broadening opportunities for participation from educational institutions around the world.

Because STARS now has over 15 years of data, an institution’s performance on certain indicators related to water use, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste can be assessed in relation to other institutions of the same Carnegie classification type. This assessment methodology makes STARS a robust tool for helping universities and colleges measure progress and helps leaders and decision-makers understand trends on a regional, national, and global level.

AASHE recently published the 2024 Sustainable Campus Index, spotlighting sustainability achievements and celebrating top-performing colleges and universities in the 17 impact areas of STARS. This annual report includes an International Top Performers List (top-scoring institution in each country with STARS participation), and an Institutional Highlights section that recognizes innovative leadership within the four main categories.

Benefits of Using STARS

Using STARS offers numerous benefits to colleges and universities. They include but are not limited to:

1. Comprehensive Framework: STARS provides a holistic approach to sustainability, covering many areas and encouraging continuous improvement.
2. Benchmarking, Tracking, and Continuous Improvement: The framework allows institutions to benchmark their performance against themself and peers and track their progress over time. This can help identify strengths and areas for improvement, and guide strategic planning and resource allocation.
3. Informed Decision-Making: The data collected through STARS can inform decision-making processes, including strategic planning and budgeting, helping institutions prioritize sustainability initiatives with the greatest impact.
4. Make Real Progress Towards Sustainability: STARS provides a clear path to improving institutional sustainability performance.
5. Transparency and Accountability: By participating in STARS, institutions demonstrate their commitment to transparency and accountability in sustainability efforts. Publicly sharing STARS reports can enhance an institution’s reputation and build stakeholder trust.
6. Gain International Recognition for Your Sustainability Efforts: The ratings—Reporter, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum—all provide positive recognition for institutional efforts to advance sustainability.
7. Collaboration and Networking: STARS facilitates collaboration and networking among participating institutions. By sharing best practices and learning from each other’s experiences, colleges and universities can accelerate their sustainability progress.
8. Student and Community Engagement: Using STARS can enhance student and community engagement in sustainability efforts. By involving students, faculty, and staff in the STARS process, institutions can foster a culture of sustainability and empower individuals to take action.
9. Integrate Sustainability Into Teaching, Learning, and Research: Using STARS can ensure students are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to address sustainability challenges and advance innovative research to further solutions.
10. Be Part of a Global Community of STARS Institutions: Over 1,000 institutions across 55 countries have registered for STARS. Be a part of this growing community!

By using the STARS framework, institutions have the advantage of understanding and, more importantly, allocating important resources toward operational efficacy and institutional progress to sustain their future. As a comprehensive, flexible, and transparent framework, STARS also supports continuous improvement and enhances institutional accountability. By embracing STARS, educational institutions underscore their education mission and lead the way in demonstrating a more sustainable world.

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Meghan Fay Zahniser is executive director at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). She can be reached at [email protected].