USD Receives STARS Gold Rating for Sustainability Achievements
The University of San Diego has earned a STARS Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in recognition of campus sustainability achievements. STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.
The Gold rating reaffirms the university’s commitment to care for our common home. USD offers nearly 400 courses addressing sustainability concepts, and the USD Office of Sustainability has published a Climate Action Plan which set goals for reducing the university's greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2035.
The Office of Sustainability has also created programs to educate students and employees on ways to make their daily work and living practices more sustainable, and led projects to reduce USD’s energy and water usage.
With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, AASHE’s STARS program 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 five overall areas: 1) academics 2) engagement, 3) operations, 4) planning and administration, and 5) innovation and leadership.
“STARS was developed by the campus sustainability community to provide high standards for recognizing campus sustainability efforts,” said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “USD has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS Gold Rating and is to be congratulated for their efforts.”
Unlike other rating or ranking systems, this program is open to all institutions of higher education, 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.
USD’s STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website: https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-san-diego-ca/report/2021-03-24/