AASHE is excited to announce that a draft of STARS 2.0 has been finalized through collaboration with the STARS Steering Committee and Technical Advisors. This will be the first major update of STARS since the release of the original STARS 1.0 in 2010. On October 8, 2012, AASHE will begin seeking feedback on proposed changes through a six-week public comment period.

Here is a sneak peek at some of the changes being proposed in STARS 2.0 for which we hope to gather feedback:

• In STARS 2.0, former Tier Two (T2) credits have been consolidated into new credits and into existing credits as optional reporting fields. The STARS 2.0 draft currently includes a single tier of 70 credits, reduced from 139 Tier 1 and Tier 2 credits.
• New credits have been added, including credits covering student-run co-curricular programs, air pollutant emissions, land use, biodiversity, wastewater treatment, workplace health and safety, and community stakeholder engagement.
• The use of baselines in STARS has been changed significantly to give institutions greater flexibility in setting baselines for GHG emissions, energy consumption, waste generation and water use.
• New fields have been added to each subcategory and to the Innovation credits to allow institutions to upload images associated with STARS subcategories.

The STARS 2.0 public comment period will be open to anyone interested in providing feedback on the next major version of STARS. To participate, individuals can access the STARS website to review the STARS 2.0 Technical Manual and a summary of changes on the STARS website, and to participate in a survey of big-picture questions related to STARS. Comments will be submitted electronically on the STARS website.

Please spread the word to colleagues across your campus or organization, and visit http://stars.aashe.org/ on October 8 to begin providing feedback!

Recent research summarized in a Greenbiz blog by Robert Kroop suggests that college and university endowments are no longer leaders in environmental, social, and corporate-governance (ESG) investment. A report from the IRRC Institute and Tellus Institute entitled Environmental, Social and Governance Investing by College and University Endowments found transparency of ESG investments to be poor despite the proliferation of sustainability survey tools. The results were based on aggregate data from multiple survey datasets, including data from public STARS reports.

The September STARS blog highlights data in the Investment subcategory of STARS to provide context to the report’s findings. The institutions highlighted in this blog provide evidence of best practices in sustainable investment - an area that has proved challenging for many institutions.

Sustainable Investment
The Investment subcategory in STARS awards up to 17.5 points for investment decisions that promote sustainability. Average available points earned are lowest in the Investment category when compared to all other STARS subcategories by a significant margin. (The second-lowest subcategory is Energy, at 20.5 percent of available points earned)

The chart below and on the left displays average available points earned in the Planning, Administration & Engagement (PAE) category, which includes Investment and four other subcategories. The chart on the right displays average available points earned for each of the six credits within Investment.

Source: STARS Average Scores dashboard visualization
Note: Total point value is represented by the size of each slice. Average available points earned is indicated by the radius of the colored fill of each slice.

Investment Credits
STARS data support the finding in the ESG report suggesting that there may be a lack of transparency for investment among college endowments. As shown in the table below, only 34 percent of institutions indicated that they make snapshots of investment holdings available to the public. In addition to this, 60 to 70 percent of STARS-Rated institutions did not pursue PAE credits 16, 17, and 18, and several institutions stated that the information was not available, particularly if the endowment was managed by an independent Foundation.

On average, institutions earn .69 out of 9 points for PAE 18: Positive Sustainability Investment, making it the Investment credit with the lowest rate of average available points earned. Nonetheless, three institutions earned maximum points by investing 30 percent or more in sustainable investments. These included Okanagan College and Simon Fraser University (both in British Columbia, Canada) and Haywood Community College in North Carolina.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas came close to earning full points for PAE 18, with 25 percent of its total investment in sustainability investment funds.

Visitors to the AASHE website can access case studies, publications, and related finance and investment resources in the Sustainable Investment and Financing section of the AASHE Resource Center.

With significant room for improvement among colleges and universities in the area of ESG investment, STARS and other survey tools can help motivate institutions to increase investment transparency. As institutions develop and improve tracking mechanisms for positive sustainability investments, we hope to see marked improvement in Investment scores.

With the development of STARS 2.0 under way and a public comment period set to start in the coming weeks, members of the public will have the opportunity to provide feedback on improvements to STARS that may encourage transparency of ESG investment among colleges and universities. Readers can provide feedback on sustainable investment and other topics at any time by emailing stars@aashe.org.

Written by Dallase Scott and Lea Lupkin.
Dallase Scott is a Sustainability Program Manager for GreenerU and currently manages Babson Colleges Sustainability Office and Programs.
Lea Lupkin is a Sustainability Program Coordinator for GreenerU and has provided STARS support for Babson College’s Sustainability Program.

If you recently completed STARS, you may be basking in the idea of not having to do it again for another few years. You might be reading the title of this blog, taking a long sip from your reusable mug and scratching your head wondering, “Why would you do STARS again so soon?”

We wondered that ourselves some days.

Yet our second STARS journey, just 16 months after our first, has proven to be an immensely effective campus-wide community-building tool for sustainability at Babson College.

Giving New Eyes to Old Problems
Babson’s sustainability journey is bit atypical. The college signed up for STARS, and then hired GreenerU to start and grow both the Sustainability Office and sustainability programs on campus. STARS was one of our first tasks.

As an outsider, we approached the process with an outsider’s eyes, and we strongly believe that STARS is a great tool precisely because it gives a fresh perspective to campus community members that have been working on sustainability issues for years.

As a new office, we wanted to optimize the STARS reporting process both as a vehicle for benchmarking and as a vehicle for development of cross-campus relationships. We took the value of the data collection seriously, and in turn our collaborators felt valued and energized to contribute. In many cases, STARS gave disparate community members a platform to showcase their efforts and receive recognition. The process developed strong relationships that the office maintains today.

Seizing the Moment
We earned STARS Silver in January 2011, and we gained momentum. We wanted to seize the moment. That semester we invited the campus community to Sustainability Town Hall meetings to share the results of our efforts and to seek input. We invited the entire community to advance Babson’s sustainability efforts by participating in targeted task forces—one for each of the three STARS categories. The task forces were not to get caught up in the never-ending cycles of typical campus committees; they were time-limited and focused on achieving one or two specific tasks.

The task forces selected their projects for the year and worked together to achieve them. In several cases, we were able to unearth STARS-worthy efforts that were already up-and-running or in development. Identification of worthy tasks provided project managers with extra motivation to compete these tasks in time for the report. Through the process, task force members gained insight into the relationship between their work and Babson’s sustainability efforts. Many offices discovered that their efforts are integral to the achievement of deep sustainability commitments at Babson.

Growing A Community of Change Agents, One STARS Point at a Time
Through the work of our task forces, the overall score for our most recent report was 6.75 points higher than that of our previous report. We are proud of that figure. But we are even more proud in having developed a community of individuals across the campus that are becoming literate in campus sustainability. These community members understand the significance of their role on campus, and see how their skills and actions will help Babson to become a leader in sustainability.

Are we reporting to STARS again this year? The answer is no. We recognize that our next set of tasks won’t easily fit into the course of a year this time around. But, will we continue to use STARS as a framework to set goals and hit milestones? The answer, resoundingly, is yes. Our goal for our next STARS submission is to engage more individuals on our task forces to contribute to the achievement of STARS Gold.

Babson likes a challenge. We are, after all, the number one school for entrepreneurship. I guess it’s in our DNA.

During the month of August, recent high school graduates across North America are completing final preparations for college and university life. New students face countless decisions, such as what to pack, what to buy, whether to bring a car, and how much to budget for the upcoming months. For all students, these important decisions will have a significant impact on the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability. The August STARS blog focuses on credits within STARS that relate to two important considerations for the upcoming academic year: limiting move-in waste and developing an understanding of student transportation options.

PAE Tier Two Credit 42: Move-in Waste
A significant amount of waste can be generated during residence hall move-in at the beginning of the academic year. For PAE Tier Two Credit 42: Move-in Waste, institutions with residence halls can earn .25 points for having programs in place that reduce move-in waste. 73% of STARS-Rated institutions currently have such a program.

OP 15: Student Commute Modal Split
Students preparing for college and university life make important decisions regarding transportation, including researching alternative transportation options and deciding whether to bring a vehicle to campus. Using alternative modes of transportation helps reduce local air pollution and GHG emissions, while walking and biking offer health benefits as well. OP 15: Student Commute Modal Split uses a common measure to recognize institutions where students use preferable modes of transportation to travel.

• At four-year STARS-rated institutions (which tend to be residential), 57% of students primarily use alternative forms of transportation for getting to and from campus.
• At two-year institutions (which tend to include more commuter students), 13% of students primarily use alternative forms of transportation.

Below is a breakdown of forms of transportation for four-year and two-year institutions:

OP Tier Two Transportation Credits
The table below outlines six transportation initiatives found in Tier 2 Transportation credits, separated by institution type:

The STARS team would love to hear readers’ feedback on sustainable choices for students in the upcoming academic year. Please send your ideas to stars@aashe.org.

This week, AASHE is proud to release its second STARS Quarterly Review (SQR): Innovations in Campus Sustainability. The summer 2012 edition focuses entirely on the Innovation (IN) category, an area within STARS that recognizes innovative solutions to sustainability challenges. Entries within the IN section may include new and ground-breaking practices in higher education that are not covered by other STARS credits or that exceed the highest criterion of a current STARS credit. July’s STARS blog not only provides highlights from the SQR, but brings attention to interesting innovative practices by institutions that were not featured in the latest issue.

Innovations in Campus Sustainability explores critical linkages between education, innovation and sustainability; highlighting the unique solutions within higher education that positively impact current and future generations. With 11 institutions highlighted, readers will learn about:

• Interactive, web-based energy management systems
• A community garden with a global reach
• Positive impacts of campus innovations, including cost and resource savings
• A large-scale community revitalization effort
• Unique approaches to sustainable housing construction

The difficulty of putting together a publication that highlights sustainability innovations in higher education is the fact that there are so many innovative practices taking place, and it is impossible to highlight every single institution. For this reason, the July blog includes brief descriptions for ten additional innovation highlights with links to each STARS IN credit.

Interesting Innovative Practices among STARS-Rated Institutions:

• Student group funds and installs the largest operational wind turbine installation in North Carolina - Appalachian State University (STARS Gold, May 2012, IN #1)
• Global Climate Change Africa Mosaic features field research in Durban, South Africa - Dickinson College (STARS Gold, April 2012, IN #1)
• Sustainable Prisons Project raises awareness for science, saves tax dollars, and promotes conservation of natural resources – The Evergreen State College (STARS Silver, July 2011, IN #1)
• Research on glandless cotton seed to create sustainable feed, food, and fuels - New Mexico State University (STARS Bronze, Sept. 2011, IN #2)
• Construction of a green learning campus and charter school that will offer dual enrollment for students – Rio Salado College (STARS Silver, Aug. 2011, IN #4)
• Frugal Innovation program addresses the need for products and services to improve livelihoods in under-served communities world-wide – Santa Clara University (STARS Silver, Jan. 2011, IN #1)
• What is a tree worth? A comprehensive study to quantify the value of trees in the university community. – The University of Arizona (STARS Gold, Feb. 2012, IN #4)
• Employee suggestion program with financial incentives proportional to the amount of money saved. – University of Ottawa (STARS Silver, Aug. 2011, IN #4)
• SustainaUnity promotes collaboration among diverse and disparate sustainability groups across the university community. – University of Virginia (STARS Silver, Feb. 2012, IN #4)
• Commercial scale dry anaerobic biodigester generates renewable energy and heat. – University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh (STARS Gold, Feb. 4, 2012, IN #1)

By submitting innovation topics through STARS, institutions are encouraged to share their stories on the actions they are taking to promote positive change. Whether an institution is large or small, well-funded or under-resourced, in an arid climate or in a cold climate, each is uniquely positioned to bring about both incremental and revolutionary change.

We hope that readers will help shape future SQR releases by providing ideas on future topics or follow-up stories. Please send your ideas to stars@aashe.org or provide your comments below.