ILLUSTRATION: SAM BULLIS WITH ASSETS FROM ICONSMIND.COM CC BY 3.0

George Brown College (GBC) was the first college in Ontario to receive a silver rating in the new second version of the Sustainability Tracking and Assessment Rating System (STARS), a self-reporting system that tracks their progress.

“We are proud that George Brown College has obtained a silver rating in our first submission,” said Anne Sado, president of GBC in a press release. “The STARS submission process has enabled us to identify areas where the college is already a leader in terms of sustainability performance.”

This year GBC received a 48.96 overall score for sustainability. The STARS system helps track how well colleges are doing in environmental, social and economic sustainability. Its version 2.0 allows GBC’s green team to perform curriculum sustainability audits thoroughly.

GBC’s scorecard highlights the college’s rating. The college has received points for 84 per cent of its programs containing one learning outcome related to social, environmental and economic sustainability; for work done by diversity, equity and human rights; for its commitment to green building, design and construction through the Waterfront campus; and for innovative programs including the school of design’s interdisciplinary design strategy, the food innovation and research studio (FIRSt) and research in denturism for recycling wastes like dental acrylilc resin and non-clinical wax.

The green team has been performing sustainability audits and gathering information for a year. Their main goal is to get a gold rating, according to Stephanie Foster, sustainability co-ordinator for the green team.

With a new self-rating system in place it will be easier to know the where the weaknesses in sustainability lie and which areas at the college need improvement.