CSULB Receives STARS Silver Rating for Sustainability Achievements
California State University, Long Beach has earned a STARS silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.
With more than 1,200 participants in 52 countries, AASHE’s STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: 1) academics 2) engagement, 3) operations, 4) planning and administration, and 5) innovation and leadership. In 2022, the CSU Board of Trustees adopted an updated sustainability policy that requires all campuses to complete and submit STARS reports.
This latest report is the third STARS report completed by the CSULB Office of Sustainability, with support from dozens of individuals and departments across campus who provided information and data for the submittal. The President’s Commission on Sustainability also played an important role in reviewing information included in the report.
Given the scale of the report, which includes 63 different assessments areas, it took the Office of Sustainability team a year to complete. The rating will be valid for 3 years.
CSULB’s STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website.
Sustainability Manager, Holli Fajack, is proud of the steady progress that the university is making towards its sustainability goals, while simultaneously feeling motivated by this latest assessment to push for more aggressive and accelerated advancements in certain areas.
“We were really hoping to achieve a gold rating this time, which requires a minimum of 65 points, and we got super close but ultimately fell short of that goal by just a few points,” shared Fajack. “The good news is we have a clear roadmap for where to focus our efforts and I have no doubt that we will with crush our goal next time!”
Compared to the 2017 and 2021 STARS reports, this latest report demonstrated significant progress made in all areas, particularly in integrating sustainability into academic programs and student and campus engagement efforts.
“Preparing our students for the world they are inheriting, with all its challenges and possibilities, is at the heart of all we do at CSULB,” said President Conoley in a letter submitted with the STARS report. “We are proud of all we have achieved so far to advance our sustainability goals and empower our community members to be part of the solution. But we recognize the work is not done. We are excited to leverage the findings from this latest STARS report to guide our efforts over the next several years.”
