UW-River Falls receives STARS Silver Rating for Sustainability Achievements

April 10, 2017 --The University of Wisconsin-River Falls has earned a STARS Silver Rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. 

This is sixth year UW-River Falls has completed the STARS report which demonstrates an ongoing commitment to sustainability. UW-River Falls endeavors to engage students, faculty, staff, and the wider community, through hands-on educational and volunteer opportunities, to further expand our shared integrity as socially, economically, and environmentally responsible citizens.

"Receiving a STARS Silver Rating allows us to celebrate our sustainability efforts as well as evaluate where we can improve our efforts," said Mark Klapatch, UW-River Falls sustainability and custodial supervisor. "The completion and evaluation of the STARS report gives us a roadmap for where to invest our time and energy going forward."

With more than 650 participants on six continents, AASHE's STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university's sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in four overall areas:  operations, academics, engagement and planning/administration.

"STARS was developed by the campus sustainability community to provide high standards for recognizing campus sustainability efforts," said AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. "UW-River Falls has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS Silver Rating and is to be congratulated for their efforts."

Unlike other rating or ranking systems, this program is open to all institutions of higher education, and the criteria that determine a STARS rating are transparent and accessible to anyone. Because STARS is a program based on credits earned, it allows for both internal comparisons as well as comparisons with similar institutions.

"We are very proud to have achieved a STARS Silver Rating for our sustainability accomplishments," Klapatch said.  "We look forward to watching our sustainability efforts grow and improve through the STARS program and hope that we will soon reach the STARS Gold Rating."

The UW-River Falls STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website at

https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-wisconsin-river-falls-wi/report/

For more information on sustainability efforts at UW-River Falls, visit https://www.uwrf.edu/Sustainability or email mark.klapatch@uwrf.edu.