Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is being recognized for advancing campus sustainability, earning a silver rating in its first Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) report.
Organized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, STARS is an internationally recognized framework for publicly reporting the sustainability performance of colleges and universities.
Brent Elliott, Associate Vice-President of Campus and Community Planning at KPU, says the rating will play a role in advancing sustainability efforts at the university.
“Benchmarking programs such as STARS can help us better understand KPU’s performance and identify areas of strength,” he says. “Moving forward, lessons learned from the report will help inform sustainability initiatives at KPU that best support its long-term goals.”
The report, published on the STARS website, awarded KPU with full points in the categories of Campus as a Living Laboratory, Sustainability Literacy Assessment, Community Partnerships, Inter-campus Collaboration, Office Paper Purchasing, Sustainability Planning and Wellness Program.
The rating is reflective of ongoing initiatives at the university including its inaugural celebration of Sustainable Development Goals week, which aims to educate students and staff about sustainability at KPU; on-campus gardens and farms utilized for sustainable crop production; climate advocacy film projects through the KDocsFF Social Justice Lab; and more.
KPU also received bonus points for demonstrating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges through its Zero Textbook Cost program, Sustainability Hub and the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) Food Bank.
For more information on KPU’s commitment to sustainability, view the university's Sustainability Framework.