STARS Rating

STARS, The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, & Rating System, is a transparent framework for self-reporting by colleges and universities that produces detailed measurements of sustainability performances. It was developed by AASHE, The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

In 2018, Columbia received an overall Gold rating from STARS. Dining received 5.00/8.00 points based sustainable practices and the percentage of food and beverage expenditures on products that are third party verified under one or more recognized food and beverage sustainability standards or Local & Community-Based, which was 50%. Dining was also rated on trayless dining, recyclable napkins, reusable mug and to-go containers, vegan options, and pre and post consumer food waste composting.