Sustainability

Facilities Management

STARS

VCU has earned a STARS rating four times, with the most recent Gold Rating awarded in November 2021. View the 2021 report here.

Since 2012, VCU has participated in Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), a program of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, which measures sustainability achievements in five areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership. 

STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their overall sustainability performance. STARS is designed to:

  • Provide a framework for understanding sustainability in various sectors of higher education.
  • Enable meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the international campus sustainability community.
  • Create incentives for continual improvement toward sustainability.
  • Facilitate information sharing about higher education sustainability practices and performance.
  • Build a stronger, more diverse campus sustainability community.

Read the VCU News story, "VCU earns Gold for sustainability" to learn more.