Today, AASHE is proud to announce the release of a new STARS publication: the STARS Quarterly Review: Framing Campus Sustainability (SQR). Based primarily on data from submitted STARS reports, the Spring 2012 issue of the SQR features comprehensive stories to frame sustainability in higher education, with the idea that these stories can be further developed in future issues. In the Spring issue, readers will learn about the diversity among STARS institutions, get an in-depth overview of credits and subcategories within OP, and gain insights on how institutions define and interpret the evolving concept of sustainability. Readers will also read about four institutions being highlighted for sustainability best practices:

• The University of Minnesota, Morris (STARS Gold) – Building operations, p. 12
• Cornell University (STARS Gold) – Renewable energy, p. 13
• Chapman University (STARS Reporter) – Three pillars in student orientation, p. 16
• The University of British Columbia (STARS Gold) – SEEDS program, p. 17

In particular, two areas to highlight in the SQR include the STARS dashboard visualization and the results of the three-pillar analysis.

The STARS Interactive Dashboard Visualization
Focus on Operations (p. 9) introduces a newly-released, interactive, STARS Dashboard Visualization now found on the STARS dashboard website. Visitors to the site can click within the graphic to view increasingly detailed levels of overall point distribution for STARS categories, subcategories, and credits. A variation of a standard pie-chart, this visualization captures two levels of information: 1) Total points possible, represented by the width of each slice; and 2) Percentage of total points earned, depicted as a straight-line radius from the center to the outer edge.

Three-Pillar Analysis
The final story of the SQR highlights results from a three-pillar analysis for certain STARS credits (p. 14). The analysis brought to light some interesting facts about the interplay of social, economic, and environmental issues among STARS institutions.

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Environmentally- and Socially-Sustainable Investment Options
The Investment subcategory in STARS is perhaps the best-suited to encourage institutions to consider the three pillars of sustainability in decision-making. The chart below is a supplemental analysis, not included in the SQR, on PAE 18: Positive Sustainability Investments. This credit recognizes institutions that promote sustainability by seeking positive investments in one of five areas, as outlined in the chart below.

Through March 1, 2012, Rated Institutions combined reported a total investment pool value of $71.6 billion. Of this amount, a combined total of $3.4 billion was reported for the five positive sustainability investment options available for the credit. This represents an overall rate of sustainable investment at 5%. This low rate can partly be explained by the fact that many institutions are unable to track sustainable investment, and thus earn zero points for PAE 18. Participation in STARS may help to develop tracking mechanisms so that more points for this credit can be earned in the future.

As depicted above, the area of sustainable investment that is being pursued most is investment in sustainable industries such as renewable energy or sustainable forestry (84%). Occurring less frequently are investments that tie more closely with social sustainability, including 5% of the total for community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and 1% of the total for socially responsible mutual funds. As more institutions develop better tracking mechanisms for sustainable investment, it will be interesting to see how the rates among these categories change.

A balanced investment portfolio for any institution would include environmental and social investments. PAE 18 is a credit that we hope to see strong improvement in overtime, as institutions develop tracking mechanisms for positive sustainability investments.

An advantage of publishing quarterly reviews instead of an annual review is that we are able to bring relevant issues to the forefront more frequently, while encouraging dialogue on these issues among members of the campus community. We hope that readers will help shape future SQR releases by providing ideas on future topics or follow-up stories. Please send your feedback to stars@aashe.org or provide your comments below.