Vermont Business Magazine Sterling College has been recognized as a top performer in the 2016 Sustainable Campus Index, achieving the top spot for Food & Dining, tying for first for Grounds and Coordination & Planning, ranking third in Curriculum, and third overall among 60 leading sustainable baccalaureate institutions. The 2016 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), highlights top-performing colleges and universities in 17 areas and overall by institution type, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).
“Sterling College is the leading voice in higher education for environmental stewardship, and this recognition in the 2016 Sustainable Campus Index proves that we speak with a big voice,” said Sterling College President Matthew Derr. “Our entire campus is a complete ecosystem of transformation, learning, and sustainability. We are committed to reshaping humanity’s relationship with the natural world.”
He continued, “A lot of hard work from across the entire campus made this recognition possible. Sterling College has no special office, no Director of Sustainability, no isolation of our sustainability effort, because we expect every person in our community to push for more sustainable and ecologically sensitive choices.”
Sterling College achieved top performer status by earning a high score overall and in the Food & Dining, Grounds, Curriculum, and Coordination & Planning subcategories in STARS. Sterling eats 75% local, sustainable, fair trade, and humane food on campus, according to the Real Food Challenge, and manages its own food system from seed to compost. Its curriculum is uniquely focused on environmental stewardship, and only offers five majors that reshape humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
“Sterling College’s strong performance in the areas of Food & Dining, Grounds, Coordination & Planning, Curriculum, and overall demonstrates significant leadership and commitment to advancing sustainability,” said AASHE’s Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “We are pleased to recognize Sterling College for working to secure a thriving, equitable, and ecologically healthy world by incorporating sustainability into campus operations, administration, engagement and academics.”
Sterling College’s STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website:
https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/sterling-college-vt/report/2016-01-28/
About Sterling College
Founded in 1958 in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, Sterling College is the leading voice in higher education for environmental stewardship. The College was among the first colleges in the United States to focus on sustainability through academic majors in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems, and Outdoor Education. Sterling College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is one of only eight federally recognized Work Colleges in the nation.
About STARS
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 with broad participation from the higher education community. The credits included in STARS span the breadth of higher education sustainability and are organized into four categories: Academics, Engagement, Operations, and Planning & Administration. All reports are publicly accessible on the STARS website. For more information, visitstars.aashe.org.
About the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
AASHE empowers higher education faculty, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visitwww.aashe.org.