U-M scored a Silver rating in its first year participating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).
U-M is among 92 schools internationally to receive a Silver rating. Participating with 189 other institutions, the university’s rating is based on data from all areas of the Ann Arbor campus, including the U-M Health System.
U-M’s highest score was in education and research. The university received high marks for its programs with sustainability learning outcomes, which includes those requiring students to take at least one of U-M’s 640 sustainability-related courses as part of the program.
Data collection for the STARS submission was co-led by the Graham Sustainability Institute and the Office of Campus Sustainability.
“Participation in STARS enables U-M to benchmark our performance and measure it over time,” says Andrew Horning, deputy director of the Graham Institute. “It will be a valuable tool for U-M to meet its goal to foster meaningful progress toward sustainability on local-to-global scales.”
Developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, STARS measures sustainability performance in four key areas: education and research; operations; planning, administration and engagement; and innovation.
The Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment, representing the work of more than 500 U-M students, faculty, and staff from 101 organizational units and 27 academic programs, also was highlighted, receiving points for providing the campus with a framework toward advancing campus sustainability.
As announced in September 2011, the STARS submission was part of the 2025 Campus Sustainability goals and serves as an important tool for measuring progress toward environmental, social and economic sustainability throughout higher education.
A full breakdown of the Silver rating is available online: tinyurl.com/6ohqele.
