STARS is the product of an extensive stakeholder engagement process that began in 2006 and continues to this day.
Milestones
2006
- The Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) issued a call for AASHE to develop a campus sustainability rating system.
- Feedback gathered from workshop participants at the AASHE 2006 conference.
2007
- Feedback gathered from workshop participants at the 2007 Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit, the 2007 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, and the 2007 Greening of the Campus Conference.
- STARS 0.4, a draft version of the rating system, released.
2008
- STARS Pilot Project initiated.
- STARS 0.5 released to public comment.
2009
- STARS Pilot Project ended.
- STARS Charter Participant registration opened.
2010
- STARS 1.0 released.
2011
- STARS 1.1 released.
- STARS International Pilot launched.
2012
- STARS 1.2 released.
- AASHE launched the Campus Sustainability Data Collector to allow institutions to share STARS data with third parties and reduce the “survey fatigue” associated with multiple reporting obligations.
2013
- STARS 2.0 released, which included open international registration and two levels of access.
- Administrative Update One to STARS 2.0 published.
2015
- Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico) became the first institution outside the U.S. and Canada to earn a STARS Bronze rating.
- Colorado State University became the first institution to earn a STARS Platinum rating.
- AASHE published the first Sustainable Campus Index (SCI), highlighting top-performing colleges and universities in 17 impact areas.
2016
- STARS 2.1 released.
- AASHE staff began reviewing all scored reports prior to publication as part of a collaborative review and revision process.
2017
- Stanford University and the University of New Hampshire became the second and third institution, respectively, to earn a Platinum Rating.
2018
- AASHE released a STARS Review Template and pilot program to encourage and support independent review of reports prior to submission.
- Sierra magazine and The Princeton Review announced that they will use published STARS reports as the basis of their annual rankings.
- University College Cork became the first institution outside North America to earn a STARS Gold Rating.
- The University of California Irvine and Thompson Rivers University became the fourth and fifth institutions, respectively, to earn a Platinum Rating.
2019
- A preview version of the STARS 2.2 Technical Manual released to stakeholders.
- AASHE launched a new STARS website, Benchmarking Tool and online Community.
- STARS 2.2 released.
- The STARS Steering Committee approved the Vision for STARS 3.0.
2020
- AASHE launched an extensive STARS Data Accuracy video series, as well as new introductory videos.
- AASHE published guidance on STARS reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- AASHE published a guide comparing STARS, Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, and UI GreenMetric World University Rankings.
- AASHE published STARS Aligned: Using the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System to Report on Contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.