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ESF Named Top Performer in 2019 Sustainable Campus Index
The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) has been recognized as a top performer in the 2019 Sustainable Campus Index, achieving the high marks in curriculum, public engagement, purchasing and research.
The Sustainable Campus Index, a publication from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recognizes top-performing sustainable colleges and universities overall and in 17 impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).
In the Overall Top Performer category for a doctoral granting institution, which looks at the highest overall scores among the institutions, ESF ranked No. 9.
"When you consider the institutions ranked ahead of ESF are much larger and we are compared to institutions across the globe, this ranking is impressive," said Interim President David Amberg. "ESF is also the only New York state school in the Top 10."
The Overall Top Performer ranking is based on the College's overall STARS score of 81.7.
ESF is ranked No. 5 in the curriculum category, tied with College of the Atlantic. AASHE examined courses, programs and learning outcomes in sustainability, as well as living laboratory initiatives, immersive experiences, sustainability literacy and faculty development.
The College came in at No. 2 for public engagement which looks at community and inter-campus partnerships, continuing education, community service, public policy participation and trademark licensing.
The College's purchasing practices resulted in a No. 5 ranking. Purchasing examined general and commodity-specific sustainable purchasing policies, life cycle cost analysis and purchase of electronics, paper and cleaning products.
ESF is tied with a number of other institutions for its No. 2 ranking in research which covers faculty and department sustainability research and initiatives for open access research.
ESF achieved top performer status by earning a high score overall and/or in the doctoral institution subcategory in STARS.
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.
AASHE empowers higher education administrators, 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.
