Indiana University Bloomington has achieved a STARS Gold rating for the fourth consecutive submission.
Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. Administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the comprehensive sustainability report addresses sustainability across the whole campus, with areas including greenhouse gas emissions, academics and research, landscape practices, student engagement, commuting, food procurement, and waste, among others.
While the IU Office of Sustainability compiles the STARS report, the assessment evaluates sustainability performance in all areas of the campus, so the score is reflective of the sustainability efforts across numerous departments and units.
“Our sustainability progress is the result of many across the university who have made a commitment to integrating sustainability into their daily work at IU,” said Jessica Davis, Associate Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. “We celebrate and thank those who contribute to our collective efforts to make IU a more sustainable campus.”
In this version of STARS, IU Bloomington received its highest score yet, demonstrating continuous improvement. Key drivers of the increased score were the adoption of the Climate Action Plan, a 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2010, and the integration of sustainability literacy as a shared goal in the IU Bloomington General Education Curriculum.