| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.71 |
| Liaison | Bridget Flynn |
| Submission Date | Feb. 15, 2012 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Oberlin College
ER-15: Sustainability Research Identification
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Colin
Koffel Environmental Sustainability Fellow Office of Environmental Sustainability |
Has the institution developed a definition of sustainability research?:
A copy of the institution's definition of sustainability research:
Oberlin College follows a general definition that is derived from the widely-cited 1983 Brundtland Commission of the U.N. definitions of sustainable development, which defines sustainability as: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Oberlin recognizes three dimensions of sustainable systems (e.g. institutions, communities, regions, countries etc.). They must be: environmentally sound, socially just, & economically viable.
A consideration of the intersection between these dimensions is fundamental to both assessment and promotion of sustainability.
Criteria that are parallel to those applied to courses will be used to identify sustainability-related and focused research. As with courses, sustainability-related research in some way explicitly addresses the concept of meeting current and future needs with reference to at least two of the three dimensions of sustainable systems. The principle distinction between sustainability-related and sustainability-focused research is the degree to which sustainability serves as a central and explicit goal of the research.
Sustainability-related Research meets the general criteria in the paragraph above and is consistent with at least one of these approaches:
• Focuses significantly on the intersection of at least two dimensions of sustainability;
• Focus principally on one dimension of sustainability but explicitly and regularly relates this dimension to the other dimensions;
Sustainability-focused Research meets the general criteria and either:
• Concentrates centrally on the concept of sustainability, including all three dimensions
• Focuses on examining an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens.
Has the institution identified its sustainability research activities and initiatives?:
A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the inventory:
The Committee on Environmental Sustainability and Office of Environmental Sustainability sent a survey to members of the faculty.The Office of Environmental Sustainability examined recent faculty research to identify any additional research.
Does the institution make its sustainability research inventory publicly available online?:
The website URL where the sustainability research inventory is posted (required if claiming Part 3 of the credit):
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.