Denison University is a proud member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and is a Charter Participant of the AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

In 2009, Denison began the task of conducting a comprehensive sustainability self-assessment utilizes the STARS program.  The result of this work led to Denison’s first STARS Report in 2012.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS® was developed by AASHE, an acknowledged thought leader that advances sustainability by providing invaluable resources, with broad participation from diverse representatives of the higher education community.

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 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.

The STARS framework is intended to engage and recognize the full spectrum of colleges and universities – from community colleges to research universities, and from institutions just starting their sustainability programs to long-time campus sustainability leaders. STARS encompasses long-term sustainability goals for already high-achieving institutions as well as entry points of recognition for institutions that are taking first steps toward sustainability.

In 2009, Denison began the task of conducting a comprehensive sustainability self-assessment utilizes the STARS program.  The result of this work led to Denison’s first STARS Report in 2012.

STARS Report - Silver Rating [pdf]