How green is Western? June 5 event to give answers

The Office of Sustainability is presenting the results of Western’s standing in the national Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS) framework created by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education at 4 p.m. June 5 in Academic Instructional Center Room 204.

Ian Collicott, a research associate with the office, will present the culmination of two years of his cross-campus research within the three main STARS areas: Education/Research, Operations, and Planning Administration & Engagement.

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 presentation will showcase WWU’s STARS ratings highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the university effort towards a more sustainable campus. Collicott will compare and contrast WWU’s programs, initiatives, numbers, and progress against peer and neighboring colleges using graphical representations. Collicott will explore how STARS is a growing interface and its potential as sustainability communication tool.

An overview of Western’s STARS standing can be found on the Western Sustainability website.