Episode 20: Streamlining Sustainability Reporting with AASHE STARS

Julian DautremontDirector of Programs, AASHEHost: Dave KarlsgodtPrincipal, Fovea, LLCProduction Assistant: Sarah BarrFrom energy use to purchasing decisions, waste management to community engagement, it’s no secret that sustainability is a notoriously broad and difficult to measure concept.Creating a comprehensive sustainability rating system was exactly the challenge guest Julian Dautremont and colleagues from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) were tackling when the STARS program was born. STARS is short for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System and is the most widely used sustainability reporting system among colleges and universities in the United States. (It’s also the sole metric used to determine the Sierra Club’s “Cool Schools” ranking each year, in case you were wondering).If STARS still stumps you or if you’re simply curious about how a broad concept like sustainability can possibly be quantified and compared, join us this episode as Julian guides us through STARS’ creation, current function and challenges, and goals for the future.