College Sustainability Report Card

STARS

Sponsoring organization and mission

The Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI), a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices.

AASHE is an association of colleges and universities working to create a sustainable future. Its mission is to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education.

Type of system

Rating – by achievement (A-F letter grades)

Rating - by achievement (levels of positive recognition only)

Year started

2006

Pilot in 2008; Version 1.0 planned for 2009

Frequency

Annual

Rating is valid for three years

Development process

Independent; developed SEI.

Multi-year, multi-stakeholder, participatory process led by AASHE. Pilot testing throughout 2008.

Participation

200 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada with the largest endowments (no opt-in or opt-out).

Voluntary - any college or university can choose to participate.

Transparency

Indicators are transparent. Process of calculating the overall grade is also transparent. However, category grade evaluation is internal to SEI.

Scoring criteria are transparent. Data and documentation are posted publicly. STARS development process is also transparent.

Objectivity

Independent assessment by SEI using defined list of indicators and internal point system with uniform requirements.

Objective scoring with clear requirements for earning each point.

Rating body

Independent, multi-person evaluation of data by SEI.

Score calculated by each institution; rating levels determined by AASHE. Option for third-party verification.

Rating standard

Based on current best practices. No school has received an “A” but a small number have received an “A-”. Average overall grade is a “C.”

Based on demonstrated progress toward “true sustainability” (top level virtually not achievable since few campuses are currently close to this level); intent is to stimulate continuous improvement by creating structure for institutions to move up over time.

Coverage

Categories covered: administration, climate change & energy, food & recycling, green building, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities, and shareholder engagement.

All categories in the SEI Report Card plus the following categories: education, research, social responsibility, community engagement, and additional categories in operations.

Process for completing

Independent background research is conducted on each school. Then, institutions invited to complete three surveys (campus operations, dining services, endowment shareholder practices); Regardless of survey participation, findings are provided to each school for verification before grades are determined and report is published.

Institution conducts self-evaluation, submits data and documentation online, signed by responsible parties, and accompanied by attestation letter from president or chancellor.

Fee for participation

No fee

Nominal fee; rate to be determined