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What is STARS?

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System

The (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance.

Established by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), STARS is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in four overall areas: academics; campus and public engagement; operations;, and planning and administration.

Unlike other rating or ranking systems, this program was developed by higher education for higher education, it is open to all institutions of higher education globally, and the criteria that determine a STARS rating are transparent and accessible to anyone. Because STARS is a program based on credits earned, it allows for both internal comparisons as well as comparisons with similar institutions.

STARS is designed to:

• Provide a framework for understanding sustainability in all sectors of higher education.
• Enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the international campus sustainability community.
• Create incentives for continual improvement toward sustainability.
• Facilitate information sharing about higher education sustainability practices and performance.
• Build a stronger, more diverse campus sustainability community

“Completing the STARS report has been a rigorous but rewarding exercise and represents a significant, campus-wide effort to evaluate and report on our sustainability achievements. This reporting exercise has recognized various individuals, departments and programs that are champions of sustainability, as well as identified the innovative and unique events and programs that help to advance sustainable practices on campus.

STARS has also been an exceptional tool indicating areas in which �����ߴ�ý can improve upon. As �����ߴ�ý is dedicated to pursuing sustainable practices and operations, we will be using these findings and the STARS report to guide our ongoing pursuit of sustainability.” 

- Sherri Bell, President of �����ߴ�ý