Campus landscapes can serve as living laboratories for reducing carbon footprints, conserving water and aquatic resources, supporting biodiversity, and building active, equitable social communities. Moreover, as learning landscapes, such campuses actively promote sustainable design by engaging faculty, staff, and students in the design and…

In this article, the author talks about Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System or "STARS," a tool currently available that aims to help a campus answer the "how" and "how hard" questions. Created by AASHE (the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education), STARS presents guidelines and suggestions (based on…

Colleges and universities continue to face significant fiscal challenges in the current recession. A review of ongoing campus facilities planning projects, coupled with a review of more than 30 recent campus master planning requests for proposals and the relevant literature, indicates that colleges and universities are finding innovative ways to…

Higher education institutions must be resilient as they face vastly increased expectations for sustainable environments, global focus, and technological support. Speed of response to these expectations ultimately depends on shared vision, shared agreement, and shared accountability. In this article, the authors challenge all those engaged with…

Millennial students can be inspired to create a legacy for future generations by the recognizable actions of campus planners to create more sustainable campuses through smart growth planning, green buildings, transportation planning, and energy- and water-efficiency retrofits. This article describes policies, programs, and projects at The…

So, what's happening "down under" in campus sustainability? Providing an international context, our authors use Australian examples to describe planning for campus greening, learning for sustainability (curriculum), institutional learning, and competency-based training initiatives.

Examines environmental assessments as a decision-making tool, distinguishing broad-based, targeted, and goal-oriented efforts as the three types most commonly practiced on campuses. Discusses benefits and problems associated with these approaches and concludes that the goal-oriented approach is most likely to be successful. Describes Tufts…

Drawing on recent survey data from the National Wildlife Federation and other publications, explains what an environmental management system is and identifies its components; examines how environmental management systems have been applied in higher education settings; reports on trends in implementation; and illustrates how the environmental…

Discusses the importance of campus energy sustainability, explaining that both demand- and supply-side strategies are required. Suggests that on the demand side, an aggressive campus energy conservation program can reduce campus energy consumption by 30 percent or more. Asserts that addressing the supply side of the energy equation means shifting…

Asserts that moving higher education onto a sustainable trajectory requires that administrators, trustees and staff, faculty, and students participate in a transparent process of setting and implementing goals. Suggests that planners have the opportunity to become true visionaries of higher education who help faculty and administrators combine…

Explores how higher education can model sustainability, including an interdisciplinary, systemic educational experience to prepare graduates to lead society on a sustainable path. Provides several examples of colleges and universities that have made some of these changes, with an emphasis on curriculum connected to other college and university…

Provides a survey of innovative approaches to campus transportation in the United States. Explains that the high costs of parking expansion have propelled many institutions toward a transportation demand management strategy, using parking pricing, transit passes for students and employees, and investment in bicycle infrastructure to shift many…

Explains that an environmental approach to planning incorporates ecological information into campus master plans to ensure a sustainable campus landscape that is beautiful, durable, and distinctive. A case study of an Environmental Master Plan at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill illustrates how such a plan was created at one of the…

Reviews and critiques the processes, circumstances, and leadership that enabled Northland College to make significant progress toward sustainability. An Environmental Council that supported strong linkages between student learning and sustainability was key to the progress. The council was an incubator of leadership from which students, faculty,…

Examines the history of higher education for sustainable development and offers examples of it in other countries and institutions. Explains that these initiatives vary widely depending on the culture, economic conditions, and environmental demands of the places in which they occur. (EV)