Dalhousie鈥檚 sustainable purchasing policies have earned the university first place for purchasing in the released by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Other Canadian institutions that ranked among the top ten performing colleges and universities for this category were University of Ontario Institute of Technology, McGill University, Universit茅 de Sherbrooke and University of Calgary.
Purchasing is one of 17 impact factors assessed by AASHE鈥檚 Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). It covers general and commodity-specific sustainable purchasing policies, life-cycle cost analysis and purchase of electronics, paper and cleaning products. With billions of dollars spent collectively by colleges and universities annually, purchasing decisions are an important piece of achieving environmental and social sustainability.
Dalhousie earned the university鈥檚 in the STARS assessment this year, a rating that鈥檚 valid for three years. Information from this year鈥檚 submission will be used to calculate Dalhousie鈥檚 placement in next year鈥檚 Sustainable Campus Index.
Read more: Focus on sustainability research helps Dalhousie clinch third STARS gold rating