91΄σΙρ has earned its second consecutive "Silver" rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The rating is awarded through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) every three years. 91΄σΙρ, which has a massive solar array on top of the Sadie Hartzler Library, LEED-certified buildings and a recycling program, first received the award in 2014. (91΄σΙρ file photo)

Sustaining sustainability: 91΄σΙρ again earns STARS β€˜Silver’ rating

by Christopher Clymer Kurtz

91΄σΙρ has earned a second consecutive β€œSilver” rating for its sustainability efforts from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

To earn the rating, institutions must submit materials through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) every three years. 91΄σΙρ first received the award in 2014.

STARS recognizes sustainability efforts by universities around the world in three focus areas: curriculum and research; operations; and planning, diversity and engagement. It defines sustainability as β€œencompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations.”

β€œInstitution-level innovation is a vital component of environmental stewardship and addressing ever-growing concerns about climate change,” said Professor , director of the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions. β€œThe steps 91΄σΙρ has taken provide a strong foundation for the ongoing work of increasing sustainability.”

In recent years the university developed a Climate Action Plan. It was also recognized for its work on a collaborative nitrogen footprint study, said Jonathan Lantz-Trissel, who as 91΄σΙρ’s former sustainability coordinator led the months-long reporting process for both the 2014 and 2017 STARS ratings.

The report is β€œa useful tool for self evaluation and directing further efforts,” said Gregory Sachs, 91΄σΙρ’s building automation coordinator, including collaboration β€œwith the broader church, community and beyond to mitigate the global effects of climate change, particularly for the most vulnerable.”

On its extensive 2017 application, these and many other sustainability efforts:

  • Eighty-nine percent of its academic departments offer sustainability courses, with at least one sustainability-focused degree at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and a quarter of research-producing departments engage in sustainability research.
  • Four active student groups focus on sustainability:Β , theΒ , and Divest91΄σΙρ. (A fifth group, the Coalition for Climate Justice, is also now active.)
  • The campus boasts five gardens that raise produce for the campus.
  • Facilities improvements included lighting upgrades, the installation of efficient heat pumps, and window switches that disable heating and cooling to individual rooms when windows are opened.

91΄σΙρ’s 2014 rating was in part for its three LEED gold-certified residential halls, the massive solar array on the Hartzler Library, and its recycling program. At the time it represented seven years of sustainability efforts, both grass-roots activism on campus and the 2007 adoption of education for sustainability as a re-accreditation requirement. 91΄σΙρ is accredited by the .