Skip to main content
Appalachian Today
News and events at Appalachian State University
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • Accolades
  • Alumni
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Athletics
  • Awards and Honors
  • Community Engagement
  • Diversity
  • Events
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Global
  • Health and Wellness
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Safety
  • Scholarships
  • Students
  • Sustainability
☰ Menu
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

Appalachian earns No. 1 ranking from AASHE for sustainability among master’s institutions

View larger image

Appalachian State University’s iconic wind turbine is a quiet reminder that sustainability is a key part of the university’s strategic plan.

STARS at Appalachian
STARS at Appalachian

Reporting and general information

Appalachian State University is a Pilot and Charter participant in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS), a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance.

View the details
By Elisabeth Wall
Posted Nov. 15, 2017 at 9:44 a.m.

BOONE, N.C.—In the 2017 Sustainable Campus Index compiled by the standard bearer for tracking sustainability in higher education, Appalachian State University ranked first among institutions with master’s programs and second overall in curriculum. The university tied for third for buildings, which is based on efficiencies in operations and maintenance, design and construction and indoor air quality.

The Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) highlights top-performing colleges and universities in 17 impact areas and overall by institution type, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

Appalachian retained its STARS Gold status, a designation shared by 104 other institutions out of the 868 schools participating in the program. STARS master’s institutions include colleges and universities that award at least 50 master’s degrees and fewer than 20 doctoral degrees annually.

Chancellor Sheri Everts said she is “extremely proud of our consistent high rankings with STARS. A deep and broad understanding of the interconnectedness of sustainability is always at the forefront as we identify priorities and set goals. We have institutionalized the concept of sustainability, and I trust we will continue as leaders within the higher education community.”

“We are very excited to be recognized for the second year in a row in the Sustainable Campus Index,” said Director of University Sustainability Dr. Lee Ball. “It has taken years of dedication and commitment by the entire Appalachian State community. Still, we have a lot of work to do to advance campus sustainability. We owe it to future Mountaineers to ramp up our efforts on buildings, renewables and energy.”

As the initiator and host of the Appalachian Energy Summit, held annually since 2012, Appalachian has assumed a leadership role in reducing the UNC system’s energy costs. Since 2012, its inaugural year, the summit has provided a platform through which UNC campuses together with industry partners have avoided more than $499 million dollars in utility costs, representing almost 9 billion pounds of CO2 emissions.

Ball said he hoped to include leadership from across the country in this year’s summit to see what energy and renewables initiatives are proving successful on other campuses.

In August, Everts announced she was prioritizing the university’s Zero Waste initiative and setting a goal to divert 90 percent of campus waste from the landfill by the year 2022. She challenged Ball and Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Paul Forte “to find ways we can reduce waste and save money through our purchasing efforts.” She recognized the university’s Food Services for implementing purchasing practices that make it easier to divert waste.

In a recent survey, more than half of incoming students reported sustainability initiatives influenced their decision to attend Appalachian. The university is a first-place winner of Second Nature and the U.S. Building Council’s Center for Green Schools national Climate Leadership Award and ranked second overall (first in North Carolina) in the highest percentage of sustainability courses by the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System.

Top-Performing Institutions for Sustainability, 2017
Top-Performing Institutions for Sustainability, 2017

The index, published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, recognizes top-performing colleges and universities in 17 distinct aspects of sustainability and over all.

View the list
Sustainable Campus Index 2017
Sustainable Campus Index 2017

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)

This publication highlights top-performing colleges and universities in 17 impact areas and overall by institution type, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).

Read the full report
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)

Inspiring higher education to lead the sustainability transformation

AASHE empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges.

Learn more

About Sustainability at Appalachian

Appalachian State University’s leadership in sustainability is known nationally. The university’s holistic, three-branched approach considers sustainability economically, environmentally and equitably in relationship to the planet’s co-inhabitants. The university is an active steward of the state’s interconnected financial, cultural and natural resources and challenges students and others think critically and creatively about sustainability and what it means from the smallest individual action to the most broad-based applications. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs that focus on sustainability. In addition, 100 percent of Appalachian’s academic departments offer at least one sustainability course or course that includes sustainability, and all students graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome. Learn more at https://appstate.edu/sustainability.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Accolades
  • Sustainability

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Accolades
  • Sustainability

Other Recent Posts

  • Campus emergency siren test to be conducted <span style="white-space: nowrap;">April 5</span>
    Campus emergency siren test to be conducted April 5
  • Troy Johnson named vice chancellor of enrollment management at App State
    Troy Johnson named vice chancellor of enrollment management at App State
  • From waste to wear: App State alumna develops sustainable pigments for fashion, printing industries
    From waste to wear: App State alumna develops sustainable pigments for fashion, printing industries
  • <span style="color: #bc8801;">Appalachian Outdoorosity:</span> Dressing for the Cold (Part 2)
    Appalachian Outdoorosity: Dressing for the Cold (Part 2)
  • Appalachian Journal marks 50 years of spotlighting Appalachia
    Appalachian Journal marks 50 years of spotlighting Appalachia
  • Honoring women’s leadership and history at App State
    Honoring women’s leadership and history at App State
  • Lumbee tribal flag now hangs in App State’s student union, honoring the Lumbee people and their history
    Lumbee tribal flag now hangs in App State’s student union, honoring the Lumbee people and their history
  • Fact check: Mushrooms share more DNA with humans than plants [faculty featured]
    Fact check: Mushrooms share more DNA with humans than plants [faculty featured]
    USA Today
  • Since 1958, App State's Southern Appalachian plant collection has aided research, teaching and conservation
    Since 1958, App State's Southern Appalachian plant collection has aided research, teaching and conservation
  • <span style="color: #bc8801;">SoundAffect:</span> Daniel E. Dawes, JD on how to overcome deep-rooted challenges in the American health care system
    SoundAffect: Daniel E. Dawes, JD on how to overcome deep-rooted challenges in the American health care system
  • App State Office of Diversity brings monthly read-alouds to lab schools
    App State Office of Diversity brings monthly read-alouds to lab schools
  • 5 award-winning authors to visit App State for spring 2023 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
    5 award-winning authors to visit App State for spring 2023 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

App State

Copyright 2023 Appalachian State University. All rights reserved.

University Communications
ASU Box 32153
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-6156
ucomm@appstate.edu

Abouts

Disclaimer | EO Policy | Accessibility | Website manager: montaldipa (beltmr) .. | Website Feedback

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat