Sustainability Leadership

Sustainability Stars Platinum logo

UNH is STARS Platinum Rated

As a public land-, sea- and space-grant institution, UNH has been dedicated to the public good for 150 years. Our forward-looking commitment obligates us to ensure that our students are empowered by an educational experience that prepares them to address the challenges and opportunities of sustainability in a rapidly changing world. Sustainability, the collective commitment to human dignity for all people and ecological integrity in all places, is fundamental to the public good and is a core value that is embedded within UNH’s Strategic Priorities and is one of nine Academic Performance Metrics.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is an internationally recognized self-reporting framework. STARS is the most widely used tool for assessing campus sustainability performance and its comprehensive approach helps UNH to assess, measure and improve our sustainability practices across all aspects of the university – across the curriculum, operations, research and engagement on and beyond campus.

In September 2017, UNH became one of only three institutions of higher education in the country to earn a STARS Platinum rating from the?Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).?This recognition places us at the highest level of sustainability performance among colleges and universities. UNH’s Platinum rating is made possible through a concerted, university-wide effort that engages faculty, staff, and students.

Today, we remain one of only ten institutions in the country?that have achieved platinum level performance on STARS. In 2021, for the first time, UNH submitted under STARS 2.2, with more stringent criteria, reflecting evolving sustainability best practices. Maintaining our Platinum rating required improving our performance compared to our 2017 submission. The UNH community has been working hard to ensure we maintained Platinum, and to prepare and position us well for a leadership role, as a driver of sustainability and resilience, for the critical next decade and beyond. We'll resubmit to renew our STARS Platinum rating in 2024.


STARS 2021 Highlight Report