Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.92
Liaison Patricia Huynh
Submission Date Oct. 26, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Waterloo
PA-4: Reporting Assurance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Mat Thijssen
Sustainability Manager
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Please note that assured reports are still subject to review by AASHE staff prior to publication, which may require additional revisions. AASHE reserves the right to withhold points for this credit if it is determined that the assurance process was clearly unsuccessful in identifying and resolving inconsistencies or errors (e.g., when AASHE staff identify a significant number of issues that were either not mentioned in the completed review template or not resolved successfully).

Has the institution completed an assurance process that provides independent affirmation that the information in its current STARS report is reported in accordance with credit criteria?:
Yes

Did the assurance process include internal review, an external audit, or both?:
Both internal review and an external audit

The name, title, and organizational affiliation of each reviewer:
Kerry Tolson, University of Waterloo Institutional Analysis and Planning
President’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability (committee joint review)
Eric Meliton, Sustainability Manager, Wilfrid Laurier University
Katarina Milicic, Outreach and Programs Coordinator, Wilfrid Laurier University

A brief description of the institution’s assurance process:
o The majority of information was curated through the University of Waterloo’s Sustainability Office. Waterloo already maintains a Sustainability Management System whereby core information on energy, waste, emissions, student engagement programming, and other environmental initiatives are continuously tracked and reviewed. In addition, specific data requests were made from appropriate departments for specific credits which were functionally independent of the Sustainability Office.
o The Sustainability Office integrated all submission content into a single Microsoft Word document to enable appropriate review, and partitioned specific requests as needed for other organizational units. The document went through a versioning program with each significant round of input and modifications from various departments.
Waterloo’s Institutional Analysis and Planning department, which oversees all institutional submissions to external rankings/surveys, also provided a review of the initial data compilation and the completed submission to ensure alignment with other institutional documentation and that there were no errors.
o Waterloo also partnered with Eric Meliton, Sustainability Manager at Wilfrid Laurier University, to review the submitted documentation and provide any flags or comments on potential errors.

Affirmation from the reviewer(s) that the report has been reviewed in full and that all identified inconsistencies and errors have been successfully addressed prior to submitting it to AASH​E:
STARS_AASHE_Reporting_Assurance_for_University_of_Waterloo.pdf

Completed STARS Review Template:
STARS_2.2_Review_Template_FINAL.xlsx

Optional

Affirmation from the reviewer(s) that the report has been reviewed in full and that all identified inconsistencies and errors have been successfully addressed prior to ​submitting it to AASHE (2nd review):
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Completed STARS Review Template (2nd review):
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Affirmation from the reviewer(s) that the report has been reviewed in full and that all identified inconsistencies and errors have been successfully addressed prior to ​submitting it to AASHE​ (3rd review):
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Copy of completed STARS Review Template (3rd review):
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Website URL where information about the institution’s reporting assurance is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.