Furman named top performer in Sustainable Campus Index

Furman University has been recognized as a sustainability leader in the 2015 Sustainable Campus Index, a publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

The 2015 Sustainable Campus Index highlights top-performing colleges and universities in 17 areas, as measured by AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

In the Campus Engagement category, Furman shares a top spot with 18 North American universities, with only three of those located in the Southeast.

The Campus Engagement subcategory recognizes institutions that provide students with sustainability learning experiences outside the formal curriculum, and support employee engagement, training, and development in sustainability. Furman is among the institutions achieving 100 percent of points earned in the Campus Engagement section of STARS.

Furman was also listed as a Rising Star in the index for improving its STARS scores by 15 points or greater over the previous reporting period, an accomplishment which catapulted the university from a Silver to a Gold STARS rating last spring.

“Furman University’s participation in STARS and strong performance in the area of Campus Engagement demonstrates significant leadership and commitment to advancing sustainability,” says AASHE’s Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “We are pleased to recognize Furman for working to secure a brighter future by incorporating sustainability into campus operations, academics, administration and engagement.”

Says Angela Halfacre, Ph.D., Furman Shi Center for Sustainability director, “We are thrilled to be recognized as a top-performing university in the area of Campus Engagement, and as a Rising Star in the Sustainable Campus Index. This recognition is the culmination of all our departments and divisions here at Furman collaborating to create a more sustainable campus. In so doing, we hope that our efforts can serve as an example of what works in our region and beyond.”

The 2015 Sustainable Campus Index may be found at this link.

For more information, contact Yancey Fouché at the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability at (864) 294-3656, or yancey.fouche@furman.edu.

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, visit www.stars.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. AASHE works with and for higher education to ensure that the world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visit www.aashe.org.