An alternative university sustainability rating framework with a structured criteria tree

Shi, Han; Lai, E.

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.09.006

Cited by 84 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Earlier studies that reviewed these kinds of tools highlighted that STARS, AISHE and SAQ have a higher incidence on the percentage of indicators for the Governance (in accordance with reference [25]) and Operations, as highlighted by Reference [28] dimensions. However, STARS has the widest coverage across all indicators, capturing a little of all areas compared, for example, with AISHE and SAQ [as also defended by other authors [24,28], SRC (in accordance with Shi and Lai [77]) or with GM [also as highlighted by Lauder et al [49]. In addition, as authors like Berzosa et al [32] claimed "the main weaknesses of SAQ are those related with open-ended questions, not establishing a final score so it is difficult to apply it as a tracking tool.…”

Section: Tools Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

et al. 2020

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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in implementing practices for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This implementation should be done in different dimensions according to a holistic and whole-school approach. Different tools have been adapted and developed to assess this integrated approach. The aim of this research is to critically reflect the existing tools to assess and benchmark ESD implementation and to discuss their applicability in two case studies. Two public Universities in Southern Europe, with headquarters in the capitals of Portugal and Spain were selected to assess and compare the integration of ESD according to a whole-school approach-Universidade Aberta in Portugal and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. After a critical analysis of the existing tools based on literature review and a list of criteria classified by experts, two tools were selected to be applied in the case studies. The online Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System Reporting Tool was used in Universidade Aberta and Green Metrics tool was used in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The tools were complemented with focus group with key-actors in both universities. The results obtained allowed to identify the need to define a common objective of the assessment tools and limitations they still have. The tools need improvements on their development namely to integrate the external impact of Higher Education Institutions on sustainability, to integrate participatory processes and to assess non-traditional aspects of sustainability. This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of these assessment and benchmarking tools as drivers to HEIs improve their sustainability performance and their role as agents of changes.

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Section: Tools Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

et al. 2020

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“…Designing a specialized sustainability reporting framework, similar to GRI, and rating systems for evaluating sustainability performance/reporting of higher education institutions, similar to Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Oekom, GMI, Bloomberg ESG Data, and so on, can present useful takeaways from the developments of corporate sustainability assessment tools. Shi and Lai () and the STARS framework are good examples of emulating best practices of corporate sustainability in higher education institutions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shriberg (2002) Figure 3 demonstrates the diffusion of the STARS system during the period September 2009 to June 2016. Shi and Lai (2013) developed a university ranking framework to integrate sustainability criteria into university ranking systems. The criteria of the framework were extracted from three prominent university rating frameworks that is, STARS, the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment or ACUPCC, and the College Sustainability Report Card (the Green Report Card).…”

Section: Sustainability Assessment Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a sustainability reporting assessment tool for higher education institutions: The University of California

Sepasi

Rahdari

Rexhepi

2018

Sustainable Development

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Businesses have integrated sustainability reporting into their corporate responsibility efforts. However, universities, as the hubs of sustainability awareness, have been struggling with reporting their sustainability practices. The purpose of this study is to examine sustainability assessment tools in higher education institutions and develop a sustainability reporting assessment tool suitable for evaluating sustainability reporting in these institutions. The study attempts to fill the research lacuna in sustainability reporting in these institutions. In doing so, this study proposes a tool for assessing sustainability reporting in higher education institutions and applies the framework to the University of California. The result of the study shows that University of California is performing stronger in environmental and educational dimensions while social and governance/economic dimensions are lagging behind. Finally, it is concluded that assessment tools have failed to recognize reporting as an integral part of sustainability in universities and sustainability reporting among these institutions is still embryonic.

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“…However, in STARS' technical manual, the reference to GIS was only as a sustainability course for earning points if the focus of the HEI offering it is on sustainability applications or as a unit or module in a sustainability course [35]. Despite the availability of indicators with spatial dimension in the assessment criteria of STARS, its assessment framework used redundant criteria [36], assign similar weight to each category [30] and has limited ability to spatially assess campus environmental operational indicators, thus requiring more efforts to make it more acceptable to HEIs [36].…”

Section: Shortcomings Of the Existing Campus Sustainability Indicatormentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment

et al. 2017

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Sustainability indicators and assessments are vital in promoting campus sustainability. Despite the plethora of indicator frameworks, campus sustainability assessment in developing countries encounters many challenges including lack of, or restricted access to, data and difficulties in measuring indicators. There is also a limited application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in campus environmental sustainability assessment, although campus operations have spatial dimensions. This article proposes a GIS-based model for environmental sustainability assessment of campus operations and demonstrates its usefulness using King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia. The model applies spatial analysis techniques, including inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation, to statistically assess the various campus operational activities by using land use data to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from energy use, water consumption, solid waste, and transportation. The integration of spatial dimension in the model facilitates the collection and measurement of spatially related indicators, helps identify hotspots of campus operations, and provides better visualization of the existing condition and future scenario of campus environmental sustainability status. This model can assist decision-makers to construct strategies for improving the overall environmental sustainability of university campuses. The paper concludes by highlighting how the model can address some challenges of campus sustainability assessment in developing countries.

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An alternative university sustainability rating framework with a structured criteria tree

Cited by 84 publications

References 14 publications

Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

Developing a sustainability reporting assessment tool for higher education institutions: The University of California

The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment

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