Photo courtesy of Amanda Sanders ’22.
Connecticut College was proud to report a Gold rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) over this past summer. This rating system was developed as a way to compare university-level sustainability efforts by quantifying often subjective characteristics. A college or university’s evaluation categories include academics, engagement, operations, planning & administration, and innovation & leadership. Each of these categories has up to 9 subcategories, which in turn provide a set number of credits to an institution. The final rating is presented as a percentage of the number of credits earned out of the total possible. The minimum score for a gold rating is 65 percent. Connecticut College’s current rating sits at 69.06 percent.
Conn excels in areas requiring engagement on behalf of the students, staff, faculty, and community. Conn’s Gold STARS report details numerous specific examples of sustainability projects and programs on campus. The Points of Distinction category that outlines the unique areas of excellence for the institution describes Conn’s student-led solar array installation project, the development of course SUS293: Applied Sustainability, which allows students to work with alumni to develop sustainability project pitches for the Office of Sustainability, the creation and requirement of Social Difference and Power courses, Conn’s inaugural membership in the Racial Equity Alliance, the required diversity, equity, and inclusion training for all members of campus, a reusable menstrual cup initiative, the collection of coffee grounds for compost, multiple campus-organized clothing swaps, and a switch from halogen to more efficient LED light bulbs in some buildings.
While this rating is a point of pride for the College, there is still room for great improvement. In an interview with Milo Becker ‘22, the SGA Chair of Sustainability, Becker recognized Conn’s strength in student engagement and sustainability-focused academics. The campus has the capacity, and arguably the responsibility, to achieve more. Becker explained that the College is still a fossil fuel-dependent campus with a so-far unquantified level of emissions. It is an important reminder that there is still work to be done. As far as the STARS is concerned, there is a recognition higher than gold. This past summer, four institutions achieved the highest rating, Platinum: Arizona State University, Cornell University, Université de Sherbrooke, and the University of Connecticut. The coveted STARS Platinum rating, requiring a score of at least 85 percent, 16 percent more than Conn’s current score, would place Connecticut College alongside only 11 total campuses worldwide.
Moving into this school year, the Office of Sustainability’s focus is minimizing plastic waste. With the banning of plastic water bottles on campus and partnerships with sustainable companies like Generation Conscious, Conn is taking promising steps. When looking further in the future, Becker hopes the College can remember to be motivated by more than this digital assessment. Sustainability is the goal, not just STARS Gold or Platinum (though they are beneficial tools to share measured success with other campuses and prospective students). Becker believes the next step for Connecticut College is to implement a climate action plan. A comprehensive plan would include emission reduction targets and detailed steps for the College to reach those goals. However, before Connecticut College can develop or sign on to such a climate action plan, the College needs to collect data on the campus’s current emission levels in order to set effective goals and achievable steps.
Lack of action perpetuates a lack of results. In this case, to remain stagnant while at the same time equipped with the necessary knowledge and resources to make a difference in our environment is to be a bystander in humankind’s greatest crime. A clear motivation is present in the students of Connecticut College to make our lives on this planet more sustainable. Our first step is here on campus.
Students interested in participating in sustainability efforts on campus can get involved with Sprout Garden located behind Cro at 8 a.m. every Saturday or the Climate Collective, a student-led climate activism club, that can be found on Instagram, @ccclimatecollective. To get involved with the Office of Sustainability, students may also reach out to Margaret Bounds, Assistant Director of Sustainability, at mbounds@conncoll.edu or Milo Becker at mbecker2@conncoll.edu.
Connecticut College’s full STARS report can be found here.
