Date: 2024-10-11 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00004365
SUSTAINABILITY
AASHE
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
AASHE
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
Open a pdf AASHE_STARS_1.2_TechnicalManual ... this is a 300 page document
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
When I was a student at Cambridge in the late 1950s, I had the opportunity to study both engineering and economics ... and later I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London.
As a young adult, I was struck by the similarity of much of the analysis in these very different fields of study but also by the complete segregation of the thinking into subject specific silos. This problem of silos is ongoing more almost 70 years later!
This AASHE initiative is interesting. But it seems to be an iniative that has chosen to limit itself to the field of 'higher education'. I wonder to what extent this work could be applied more broadly if not universally.
I am writing this commentary almost 10 years after the AASHE initiative was launched. I am aware of a growing interest in the issue of 'sustainability', but I do not know to what extent the lesssons of this work have been used more broadly. It would be good if all the different iniatives could be brought together into a single rational whole. To the exent possible, this will be a goal of TVM.
Peter Burgess
A MESSAGE FROM AASHE LEADERSHIP
Dear Colleagues,
Higher education has always recognized its public responsibility to educate students, to provide research that fuels our economy and strengthens our communities, and to model the behaviors that contribute to a just and more civil society. Recently, higher education institutions have also recognized the important role they can play in moving all of us to a more sustainable future, one that will provide prosperity today while ensuring that future generations have resources to meet their needs.
These goals, as essential as they are, are also complicated. The challenges facing the globe are vast, and it can sometimes be daunting to consider how institutions might change course, particularly given that we may be somewhat unsure of where we need to head.
To help address this challenge, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education offers campuses a comprehensive tool, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating SystemTM (STARS). Constructed over several years and with the help of many students, staff, faculty, and administrators drawn from a wide range of institutions, STARS® enables colleges and universities to gauge their progress toward sustainability. This voluntary, self-assessment tool provides a clear and thorough system by which higher education institutions can benchmark where they are today and set goals for the future.
STARS was developed by and for higher education, and recognizes the unique missions, challenges, obligations, constraints, and opportunities of colleges and universities. It provides a tool for looking at all facets of our institutions—curriculum and research, campus operations, planning and institutional capacity—with the goal of aiding strategic planning, fostering cross-sector dialogue about sustainability on campus, and stimulating conversations and learning between institutions.
On behalf AASHE, thank you for your interest in STARS and for your ongoing contributions to creating a sustainable future. We look forward to your participation.
Toward sustainability,
Geoff Chase Chair, Board of Directors, AASHE Dean, Division of Undergraduate Studies, San Diego State University
Paul Rowland Executive Director, AASHE