As the world continues to grow, so do the needs for a sustainable environment. University of Iowa has recognized these needs, recently receiving a gold rating for its sustainability efforts.
The rating comes from the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System, or STARS, which is a self-reporting framework that colleges and universities use to measure their sustainability performances, according to the STARS website.
STARS Senior Manager Monika Urbanski said the scoring system involves credits that institutions pursue, with scores falling in the category of either bronze with 25-44.9 points, silver with 45-64.9 points, gold with 65-84.9 points, or platinum above 85 points. The UI received a score of 65.9.
Sara Maples, UI Tippie College of Business adjunct professor and city of Cedar Rapids sustainability program manager, said receiving the gold rating was a great achievement and a testament to the hard work done by the Office of Sustainability and the Environment.
“The University of Iowa is unique in that the sustainability efforts are aligned with its mission of teaching, research and service, and so that’s really where the university shines,” she said. “Where they truly contribute to the broader societal impacts is through that work.”
General categories within the rating include academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership, with each category broken down into further subcategories.
Urbanski said the UI had three points of distinction that helped it stand out and receive the ranking it did: the sustainability curriculum, the coal-free campus goal, and Iowa Initiatives for Sustainable Communities.
The university currently offers 226 different sustainability courses, up from 169 in 2018, according to the report. Around 74 percent of departments currently offer at least one sustainability course, and all students entering the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Health, or College of Education must take a sustainability general education credit.
Stratis Giannakouros, director of the UI Office of Sustainability and the Environment, explained how the mandatory courses are a key initiative, especially as they are based within each specific discipline.
“[The classes] teach you how to use the disciplinary language of your major and then to think about these questions about how humans fit in society and interact with the environment,” he said. “[Students] will be successful when they go out into the world because of these core concepts that we’ve promoted in the requirement.”
RELATED: UI students collaborate with Dubuque on sustainability initiatives – The Daily Iowan
As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, the UI intends to be coal-free by 2025. As a part of those efforts, the university has a pioneering biomass program, which explores alternative energy options. As of 2022, 84 percent of the UI’s total electricity needs came from green power, according to the report.
“Taking our coal-fired power plant and moving that to biomass was a huge reduction in the emissions associated with our central utility,” Giannakouros said.
In addition, Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities is an engaged learning program at the UI that offers partnership opportunities between higher education institutes and communities, advancing sustainability efforts within those communities.
From 2020-23, the UI built relationships with 21 new communities across Iowa and completed 105 projects, with over 450 students involved, according to the STARS report.
“Doing well on sustainability means that we’re good stewards of public resources in that there’s this dividend — it’s not just for the environment,” Giannakouros said. “It lowers costs for students, makes the campus more efficient, and contributes to these environmental goals.”