Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 87.10
Liaison Alex Davis
Submission Date March 5, 2020

STARS v2.2

Arizona State University
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Alex Davis
Asst. Director
University Sustainability Practices
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Student groups 

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Campus Sustainability Solutions Initiatives (CSSI): CSSI incorporates Green Team volunteer opportunities and sustainability projects on campus. CSSI strives to bring sustainable change to the campus as well as on-campus events, and to educate students, staff, and faculty alike in how ASU can be a more sustainable university and a sustainability leader in higher education.

Sustainabilibuddies: The mission of Sustainabilibuddies Mentoring Program is to provide first-year and transfer students with social and academic guidance during the transition to Arizona State University (ASU) and the School of Sustainability (SOS) through upperclassmen mentorship.

The Honor Society for Sustainability: The Alpha Chapter of the HSS fosters a network of sustainability scholars from across the campus workforce to promote sustainable principles and empower others for success. Accomplishments include: The formation of the Honor Society for Sustainability the Alpha Chapter and a week-long series of climate conversations associated with the Paris talks, including a Skype session with ASU faculty attending the Paris talks.

Engineers Without Borders, ASU chapter, is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities to improve their quality of life through implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects. Accomplishments include: During summer 2013, several members of the ASU chapter of Engineers Without Borders spent about five weeks during July and August in the Bondo Rarieda district of Kenya to resurface one of several defective dams that are essential elements of the region’s water-supply system.

Green Devils (Polytechnic campus) Our mission is to make our campuses and community more sustainable. Our members serve as project leaders and organize events. Accomplishments include: Assisting with green events, tabling to raise awareness about ASU’s sustainability initiatives and goals. Assisting with the Polytechnic community garden.

School of Sustainability College Council (SOSCC) collaborates with other clubs and organizations within the School of Sustainability to promote student involvement, nurture faculty-student relations, recognize outstanding faculty, organization, and student achievements and offer students the opportunity to learn and develop the leadership skills needed to solve today's environmental, economic, and social challenges of sustainability. Achievements: Lunch with the Dean, field trips and social events for the SOS.

U.S. Green Building Council Arizona State University Chapter - as a student group to USGBC, the goal is to help students gain the knowledge needed to become LEED Green Associate Accredited through study sessions, educational workshops, and practice tests.

The Sustainability Review (TSR) communicates sustainability challenges, developments, and opportunities through reporting, analysis, opinion, and art/visual media. We are an online journal edited and published by graduate students at Arizona State University and hosted by the university’s School of Sustainability.

Greenlight Solutions exists to enable sustainability-minded undergraduate and graduate students at Arizona State University (ASU) to apply their education, through consulting projects, to help organizations to operate in a more sustainable manner.

Green Greeks: Green Greeks at Arizona State is an organization designed to increase a culture of sustainability within Greek life, by connecting students, organizations, and the surrounding community-- inspiring student-led projects and channeling university resources to benefit sustainability initiatives.

Barrett Sustainability Club: Barrett Sustainability Club (BSC) is a group of students working to change the world starting with Barrett, the Honors College. BSC has two main priorities: hosting bi-weekly sustainability-focused events and maintaining the rooftop garden in the Barrett Complex. The club exists to educate students about sustainability while providing a platform for change and accomplishes these goals through initiatives, discussion, outreach, and hands-on experiences.

Central AZ Chapter – Society for Conservation Biology: The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an international professional organization dedicated to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity.

Nature at ASU: An undergraduate-led organization focusing on building, uniting, and empowering environmentally-minded students at ASU. We seek to connect students from ASU's disparate environmental disciplines to resources, opportunities, and each other.

Sun Devils for Fair Trade: Our organization advocates for Fair Trade practices across ASU's four campuses, and conducts events centered around Fair Trade education

Sustainability Alliance @ ASU: SAASU is a collection of student organizations interested in social, economic, and environmental issues who come together to advance a culture of sustainability across ASU's campuses. Our member organizations collaborate to lead events and initiatives that no one organization could do alone. We are made of purely students, for the students.

Veg Out: Veg Out provides a forum for students to learn about and discuss the ethical, environmental, health, and culinary aspects of plant-based eating and living. To incite dialogue within the community about the agriculture industry, the events we throw include film screenings of documentaries, discussions with reputable speakers from across the world, educational outreach, and community-building workshops and activities.

All clubs are active as of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Additional information available: https://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/student-life/campus-experience/student-sustainability-clubs-organizations/

Gardens and farms 

Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
ASU has a Campus Harvest Program and 3 community gardens to include the downtown, Polytechnic and Tempe campuses. The downtown garden is part of the School of Health Solutions program, the Tempe garden is operated under the Arboretum and Grounds program and the Polytechnic garden is operated by University Sustainability Practices. These gardens offer volunteer workdays and course offerings such as PE 240. The Polytechnic garden, called the Garden Commons, serves the campus with a seasonal weekly Farm Stand where students and staff and buy, organic local produce and donates excess produce to local food banks. The Campus Harvest program provides oranges and dates that are sold to the public and to Sun Devil Dining to be used in the dining halls and restaurants on campus.

Campus Harvest:
https://cfo.asu.edu/arboretum-campusharvest

Garden Commons:
https://cfo.asu.edu/Garden-commons

Student-run enterprises 

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
GreenLight Solutions (GLS) was founded as a solution to multiple challenges. Students at Arizona State University (ASU) needed a way to apply the sustainability knowledge they were acquiring at ASU, and organizations needed a cost-effective way to start embracing sustainability. GLS has a cutting edge team of professionals and students eager to assist you with your unique sustainability solution, from inception to implementation. We have access to a pool of experts that encompasses practitioners and academics who have been immersed in the science of sustainability since it was embedded in ASU.

Vision
To design, promote, and educate about sustainability practices for organizations to implement through individualized solutions in order to create a more sustainable world.

Mission
To enable sustainability-minded undergraduate and graduate students at Arizona State University (ASU) to apply their education, through consulting projects, to help organizations to operate more sustainably.

http://www.glsolutions.org/

Sustainable investment and finance 

Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
ASU's Foundation and School of Sustainability offer SOS 498/594 - Topic: Sustainability in Investing. The course is a student-run ESG investment strategy course out of the School of Sustainability with students from multiple disciplines, including those from the W.P. Carey School of Business. Under faculty supervision, students manage over $500,000 of the ASU Foundation's assets over the course of the year. Collaboration between students from the School of Sustainability and W.P. Carey School of Business will be leveraged for an interdisciplinary perspective. Students will develop and implement an investment strategy that incorporates Environmental, Social, and Governance considerations.

The Arizona State University Sustainability Initiatives Revolving Fund (SIRF) was established in Fiscal Year 2010 to invest in projects that foster and enable sustainability efforts and provide an economic return on investment. SIRF funds are available to all ASU community members. Over the past three years, SIRF applications have been completed by students. Each Tier 2/3 application requires students to develop basic financial skills to complete a detailed project budget and to calculate a project's net present value, internal rate of return, etc. More information: https://cfo.asu.edu/sirf

Events 

Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Throughout the year, the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University sponsors, hosts, or endorses sustainability-related events, lectures, and conferences locally, nationally, and around the globe. Among the many events are two signature lecture series. The prestigious Wrigley Lecture Series brings world-renowned thinkers from academia, business, and government to engage the community in dialogues to address sustainability challenges. The Sustainability Series includes discussions on a range of environmental, social, and economic topics. This program is not student-governed.

The Sustainability@ASU Film Series provides free sustainability-themed feature-length movies at the local movie theater closest to campus, generally followed by a Q&A session with someone associated with the film, or a panel of ASU faculty or community leaders who specialize in the sustainability topic featured in the film.

Cultural arts 

Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Using a Sustainability Lens in Art with Toxic Nature Studios (artist talk and exhibition)
https://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/events/rsvp/using-a-sustainability-lens-in-art/

ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and Biodesign Institute participated in Climate Change Theatre Action:
https://herbergerinstitute.asu.edu/news/asu-actors-scientists-team-increase-climate-change-awareness

Wilderness and outdoors programs 

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
ASU's Arizona Outdoors Club follows the Leave No Trace principles per club member feedback. Additionally see the club constitution, Section 6: Outing Rules and Regulations:
...
D. Rolling or throwing of rocks on Club outings is prohibited
E. Camp and lunch sites shall be thoroughly cleaned up and if feasible all waste paper and tins shall be carried out for disposal if disposal facilities are not present at the site
https://asu.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/arizona-outdoors-club



Adventure Devils seek to better our community and environment through dedication to outdoor stewardship, sustainability and advocacy. From the Adventure Devils constitution: "The purpose of this organization shall be to bring Arizona State students together over issues regarding sustainability, conservation, and outdoor stewardship. In addition to engaging with these issues in our community, we shall partake in outdoor activities where we will promote good practice and educate students on proper wilderness conduct. We will create an environment where all voices and opinions may be heard. ... Our mission is to practice good outdoor conduct and stewardship, and this
shall be enforced in full." Per the constitution, specific officers are tasked with:
"Responsible for finding and managing unique partnerships and opportunities to build a new generation of environmental stewards and advocates in our state."
"Leads trips and other outings into nature. Also arranges for clean ups and charitable
events."
https://asu.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/adventuredevils

Sustainability-focused themes 

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
---

Sustainable life skills 

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Sustainability House at Barrett (SHAB) is a student-initiated, student-run community that works to build a strong living and learning environment of students with a common interest in understanding and acting upon a broad range of sustainability-related issues. Solar panels, a greywater reuse system, an organic garden, an experimental green roof, and state-of-the-art energy use modeling are all extra facilities features in SHAB. Students have the opportunity to work together to establish a dynamic, shared vision of what a sustainable future means, and they are supported by Barrett and the university to work toward achieving this goal both within and beyond the classroom.
More information: https://barretthonors.asu.edu/student-life/housing/residential-college-experience/tempe/barrett-complex/shab-residential-community


The School of Sustainability Residential Community provides a welcoming and supportive environment for students as they transition into university life and helps them develop the skills they need to assure their academic and personal success. Sustainability students have an opportunity to participate in special academic and extracurricular activities such as: advising workshop dinner, field trips, campus sustainability projects, volunteering in community gardens.
More information: https://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/student-life/campus-experience/sustainability-residential-community/


ASU's Housing Sustainability Certification recognizes students, faculty, and staff across ASU for incorporating sustainability practices in both their residence halls, apartments, or homes--on or off campus. Our actions and behaviors play an integral part in sustainability at ASU, and we cannot achieve our University-wide sustainability goals without everyone's participation. More information: https://cfo.asu.edu/sustainability-certification-program

Student employment opportunities 

Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
University Sustainability Practices offers 10+ Program Assistant positions.

Zero Waste offers 8+ positions.

Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiative offers applied consulting positions.

The School of Sustainability also supports a paraprofessional student programming position within the residential community in Adelphi Commons and offers many teaching assistant and research assistant positions to graduate students in the school.

Sun Devil Fitness Center hires Wellness Ambassadors.

Positions are made available through the Student Employment website.

Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
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Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Susan Norton

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.