Tracking Our Progress: STARS & Campus Sustainability Survey

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)

At Swarthmore, sustainability isn’t just a goal—it’s a core component of how we live, learn, and operate. To accurately measure our progress and ensure transparency, the Office of Sustainability utilizes the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), a self-reporting framework managed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

We complete the assessment every three years, collecting and analyzing data across dozens of different impact areas. These reports allow us to evaluate our progress by taking stock of our institutional strengths while identifying key opportunities for future improvement. Swarthmore completed its first report in 2011, achieved our first Silver Rating in 2017, and proudly received a Gold rating on our last two reports, in 2023 and 2026. Explore our full STARS results here. 

Sustainability Engagement & Awareness Survey

As part of our data collection for the 2026 STARS report, the Office of Sustainability launched our first-ever campus-wide Sustainability Engagement and Awareness Survey. This baseline survey was designed to better understand the culture and literacy of sustainability across our campus.

For roughly one month, community members shared their insights on campus initiatives, personal commuting habits (faculty and staff), and general awareness of key sustainability topics. Overall, the results demonstrate that community members generally feel sustainability is effectively integrated into Swarthmore's campus culture. Furthermore, respondents feel they have adequate opportunities—whether as faculty, staff, or students—to learn about and actively participate in our collective campus sustainability efforts. Explore the full results here.

Because tracking progress requires consistent measurement, the Office of Sustainability plans to re-administer this survey at regular intervals in the coming years. This will allow us to map trends, measure the efficacy of new programs, and ensure Swarthmore continues to build a deeply rooted culture of sustainability.