Durham College has received a bronze rating from the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS), offered through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), for its on-campus sustainability initiatives.

The system, a comprehensive tool that compares the sustainability initiatives of participating colleges and universities, focuses on several key areas including education and research; operations; planning; and administration and engagement with each category holding a percentage-based score.

The college officially began benchmarking its sustainability initiatives through the STARS program in February 2012 and after several months of data collection received its bronze rating in October.

“Durham College is dedicated to ensuring that sustainability guides our decisions and practices in fostering the continued success and well‐being of our students, people and planet,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “2012 marked the start of our commitment to living green and we are very proud to be given a bronze rating for our first STARS submission. In addition, the STARS process has given us the opportunity to recognize both our weakness and strengths as an institution, knowledge we will use to further our success to date and make improvements going forward. I am confident this is just the beginning of our sustainable journey.”

In addition to the ongoing implementation of new measures designed to make it a better environmental steward and champion, Durham College recently introduced a Living Green campaign as well as a Sustainability Committee that is designed to promote awareness, understanding and the practice of environmental, social and economic sustainability with all college stakeholders.

AASHE has broad participation from numerous universities and colleges throughout North America including vast networking opportunities and the option to participate in the STARS program. The association is designed to advance sustainability in higher education by creating a diverse community engaged in sharing ideas and promising practices. It provides administrators, faculty, staff and students, as well as the business that serve them, with thought leadership and essential knowledge resources; professional development opportunities; and a framework for demonstrating the value and competitive edge of sustainability initiatives.