![\"STARS](\"http:\/\/www2.nau.edu\/news-p\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/stars.jpg\" "\\"stars\\"")
A new level of achievement in sustainability practices has been registered by Northern Arizona University, which this month earned a gold rating from the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment and Rating system.<\/p>\nA new level of achievement in sustainability practices has been registered by Northern Arizona University, which this month earned a gold rating from the Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment and Rating system.<\/p>\n
The gold status elevates NAU into the top tier of participating universities, joining 39 others at that level, while 103 earned a silver rating and 57 earned bronze.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur university’s achievement of\u00a0STARS Gold<\/a>\u00a0this year, advancing from last year’s STARS Silver, is evidence of progress for our campus sustainability goals,\u201d said\u00a0Bryan McLaren<\/strong>\u00a0from the\u00a0Office of Sustainability<\/a>. \u201cThis was an extremely collaborative effort that was possible only because of the hard work of individuals from a variety of departments across the campus.\u201d<\/p>\n STARS ratings are built on self-reporting in four categories: Education and Research; Operations; Planning, Administration and Engagement; and Innovation. NAU is one of 110 STARS charter participants.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve not just achieved STARS Gold, but one of the highest rated Education and Research scores of any university in the program with an 83 percent,\u201d McLaren said. \u201cIt is unquestionably clear that NAU leads the country in sustainability education, and every day we continue to expand our capacity to create a culture of sustainability in and out of the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n The STARS program was developed by the\u00a0Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education<\/a>. More than 15 participants from NAU attended the recent AASHE sustainability conference and made a number of presentations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"