LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville has become the first college in Kentucky to achieve a gold rating in sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
UofL scored 65.12 for 2016 in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), the global standard AASHE uses to gauge progress in environmental, social and economic stewardship.
No other Kentucky college or university has a gold STARS rating, and UofL is one of only 92 gold schools in the world. Only five other ACC schools have a gold rating.
“The University of Louisville is committed to accountability: academic accountability, financial accountability and environmental accountability. We continue to be a leader in sustainability issues,” said UofL President James Ramsey. “Achieving measurable gains in campus sustainability is part of UofL’s strategic plan, and I am proud of the progress being made here.”
UofL’s score is more than seven points higher than its 2013 silver score of 58.29. UofL also earned a silver in 2011 with a score of 50.11.
“I’m thrilled with the progress we’ve made in recent years and eager to tackle the challenge of moving UofL toward a platinum – the highest – rating,” said Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives at UofL.
Among the efforts that helped push UofL to gold were new nutrition education plans; the recently added preferred name option, which allows students to be identified by the name they use, rather than their legal name; and the biannual Leigh Ann Conn Prize for Renewable Energy, a $50,000 award for renewable energy or energy efficiency ideas or achievements.
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