Gonzaga University Earns Gold Sustainability Rating

Gonzaga University has earned a STARS Gold rating in recognition of its dedication to improving sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). This is the second consecutive STARS Gold rating for Gonzaga.

STARS stands for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, and it measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.

"This recognition places us among the leading universities in sustainability and reflects our Jesuit value of caring for our common home," says James Simon, Gonzaga's director of sustainability. "This Gold rating shows that sustainability is part of who we are in the classroom, in research, in the way we operate our campus, and in how we live out our mission every day."

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. More than 1,200 institutions in 52 countries take part, reporting their achievements in five overall areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and stewardship.

Simon notes that Gonzaga was the first U.S. university to join the Vatican's Laudato Si Action Platform, an indication that sustainability at Gonzaga's Jesuit Mission "go hand in hand." Gonzaga also pursues myriad sustainability goals through partnerships with the larger Spokane community on issues such as climate resilience.

Academically, sustainability is built into courses across campus.

"Majors in Environmental Studies and Environmental Science, minors like Sustainable Business and Solidarity & Social Justice, and the Cataldo Project for faculty all show our commitment to integrating sustainability into our learning," Simon notes.

Students lead the way in sustainability efforts on campus, volunteering to achieve zero-waste basketball games and organizing Green Fund projects and more. And daily life on campus has sustainability front and center.

"Efforts to cut energy use, conserve water, install solar panels, and grow food in our campus greenhouse directly reduce our impact while creating hands-on learning opportunities," Simon says.

The STARS Gold rating gives Simon and Gonzaga's sustainability-minded community the opportunity to think big about "what's next."

A decade after Gonzaga's Office of Sustainability was first established, it can count the new STARS rating as one of a long list of achievements to build on.