Measurement and reporting

University Sustainability Practices coordinates the efforts of many departments and individuals to measure progress against sustainability goals. This data also helps with external reporting commitments and provides valuable data for education projects and academic research. Students, faculty and staff may assist ASU in measuring progress by participating in the biannual Comprehensive Sustainability Survey.

AASHE STARS

ASU participates in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Reporting System of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the most widely accepted sustainability reporting tool for the higher education community. A hallmark of the STARS tool is that all reports are open to all.  ASU is currently rated Platinum.

Times Higher Education Impact Rankings

ASU engages in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings, a global analysis of university contributions to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.

Sustainability literacy

University Sustainability Practices administers a Comprehensive Sustainability Survey to measure the ASU community’s sustainability literacy, culture and behaviors. The survey has been administered every two years since 2017 and was most recently completed in 2023. The survey is sent to all faculty and staff and a representative sample of ASU’s student body. 

Second Nature

ASU President Michael Crow was one of the founding signatories of the Second Nature Climate Commitment, believing that it was the responsibility of higher education to lead by example in climate change efforts. In 2015, ASU expanded its carbon commitment by adding a climate resilience commitment. Progress to date: Annual GHG Inventory

Sustainability operations annual review

As ASU continues to make progress on its efforts to implement sustainability in operations and practices, the Sustainability Operations Annual Review provides a wide variety of metrics annually into one reference document. Read the latest review or browse previous years.