Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.13
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Swarthmore College
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Aurora Winslade
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Is the institution currently a member of a national or international higher education sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):
Carbon Leadership Commitment (ACUPCC)
American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge
Sustainable Development Goal's Climate Emergency Letter
US EPA Green Power Partnership
AASHE

Does the institution actively participate in a regional, state/provincial, or local higher education sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):
Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium (PERC)
Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN)
Sustainable Philadelphia Alliance of Regional Campuses (SPARC)

Has the institution presented at a higher education sustainability conference during the previous year?:
Yes

A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):
Two full-time staff members from the Office of Sustainability as well as four student representatives attended the 2019 AASHE conference in Spokane, Washington, where they were able to both present sessions on the Climate Emergency to faculty and administrators at other institutions and attend informative sessions on STARS data collection and quality assurance.

Members of the Swarthmore Office of Sustainability also presented at the fall 2018 AASHE conference. Presentations included: "Partnering student Green Advisors with staff Advocates: Swarthmore's innovative eco-reps model", "From the 3Es to the SDGs: Updating sustainability frameworks used as educational tools", and several carbon pricing workshops.

Staff also presented at the fall 2018 International Conference on Sustainable Development ("Breaking down silos in universities: Imaginative interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable development research, education, and practice."), at a fall 2018 AASHE webinar ("The climate-friendly global academic conference with a human touch"), and at the fall 2018 Global Climate Action Summit to co-release the "Higher Education Carbon Pricing Toolkit".

Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to an external higher education sustainability resource center or awards program?:
Yes

A list or brief description of the sustainability resource center or awards program and submission(s):
Fall 2019: Gold medal recognition from the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the College's newest dormitory, which meets high sustainability standards
Website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/ppr-apartments-win-coveted-architecture-award

Summer 2019: recognition with an Excellence in Sustainability Award from the National Association of College and University Business Officers 

Fall 2018: recognition of the Higher Education Carbon Pricing Toolkit by the Global Climate Action Submit

Has the institution had employees or students serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years?:
Yes

A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
Annual Sustainability Student Leadership Symposium planning committee (staff)
Annual GreenAllies PA conference planning committee (students & staff)
Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium board (staff)
OurClimate (staff)
AASHE Professional Retreat planning committee (staff)

Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
Yes

A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:
Swarthmore is partnering with different institutions in Hawai'i, such as MA`O Organic Farms (the largest organic farm on Oahu), and the University of Hawai`i on their Manoa and West Oahu campuses. These institutions provide valuable education on sustainable food systems and farming, and are helping us create the infrastructure to have high school students from Waianae, HI come work on gardening on campus over summer breaks. This past summer, students from Swarthmore went to UH Manoa and helped out with the creation of a Zero Waste Plan, and on greater brainstorming for reduction of waste from campus eateries and increased student engagement.

Has the institution had employees or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
No

A brief description of the peer review activities:
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Optional Fields 

A brief description of other inter-campus collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year :
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Website URL where information about the institution’s inter-campus collaborations is available:
http://www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.