Western has earned a gold STARS rating and its highest score yet under the most rigorous standards, for its work advancing sustainability on campus.
The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a global standard for higher education, tracking progress towards sustainability in academics, engagement, operations and administration.
Administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), STARS' transparent, self-reporting framework allows colleges and universities to measure their sustainable performance against peer institutions.
Western second in Canada to receive gold rating under STARS v3.0
Western is one of 11 institutions around the globe to receive gold-level status under STARS version 3.0 (v3.0), which is a more stringent version of STARS. The version, released last year, uses a broader and more inclusive framework, including indicators of racial equity and social justice.
Heather Hyde
In Canada, Western is the second university to receive a gold rating under v3.0, along with Concordia University in Montreal, Que.
This is the fourth consecutive time the university has achieved a gold rating in the triennial report, since 2014. With this most recent submission, Western received its highest score in STARS to date.
Heather Hyde, Western's director of sustainability, said Western could have opted to submit under version 2.2 again, but decided to submit under the more rigorous 3.0 framework, to build upon the university's efforts and continuous progress.
"This recent gold STARS rating acknowledges the work of many people across campus, who are embedding sustainability into nearly every aspect of the university and who are dedicated to creating a more sustainable future," she said.
"With sustainability a key pillar of Western's strategic plan, Towards Western at 150, we will continue to model and adopt sustainable processes as we work to achieve net-zero emissions for campus operations by or before 2050, and look to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to guide our work at home and abroad."
The report measures performance in more than 110 areas, including environmental research and curriculum, greenhouse-gas reduction, building innovation and campus-community involvement.
Areas where Western excelled in the latest STARS ratings include:
-Sustainability course and program offerings. Sustainability focused-degrees, certificates and majors for undergraduates include: Civil and environmental engineering, biodiversity and conservation, One Health and Ecosystem Health. Offerings at the graduate level include Masters of Environment and Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Mining Law, Finance and Sustainability. For more information, visit Western's sustainability course inventory, which includes more than 2,700 courses related to the UN SDGs.
-Sustainability research. Sustainability research initiatives include: The Western Sustainable Impact Fund and The Western Strategic Priorities Fund and The Centre for Environmental & Sustainability. Western's Campus as a Living Lab program brings together collaborations of faculty, staff, students, community and industry partners to support biodiversity conservation, improved energy systems and other research and project areas. Learn more.
-Campus engagement. Western Sustainability participates annually in Western's Orientation Serves day, providing opportunities for students to explore and learn about sustainability features on campus. Western Sustainability also promotes the theme of living sustainability in residence through several initiatives including: Choose2Reuse, meatless Mondays, waste diversion and sorting programs and Waste Reduction Week activities. Learn more.
Achieving gold at the STARS 3.0 level comes just months after Western placed in the top two per cent globally, tied for fourth in Canada in the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds Limited) World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025, released in December 2024.
