“Reaching for the STARS”: A Collaborative Approach to Transparent Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education, the Experience of a European University in Achieving STARS Gold

Abstract

In 2010, University College Cork (UCC) was the first institution in the world to be awarded a “Green Flag” from the Foundation for Environmental Education. Since 2011, UCC has been ranked highly in the UI Green Metric World University Rankings and, in 2018, the university participated in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). STARS—a programme of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)—is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to comprehensively measure their sustainability performance. In 2018, UCC became the first university outside of the US and Canada to achieve a STARS Gold Rating. This paper documents the experience of UCC in undertaking the STARS assessment for the first time and explores how the process is helping to shape the sustainability agenda at UCC. The STARS submission process involves a collaborative review stage, and the use of this collaboration to shape further development of the STARS programme will be also be examined. Transparent reporting tools, such as STARS, present opportunities for further engagement with campus stakeholders. Recommendations for campuses embarking on the programme, and for the assessment of sustainability in higher education will be presented.