{"id":233713,"date":"2026-05-06T08:19:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T18:19:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=233713"},"modified":"2026-05-06T08:19:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T18:19:23","slug":"manoa-stars-silver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/06\/manoa-stars-silver\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Mānoa reaches sustainability milestone with STARS<\/abbr> Silver"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> has leveled up its commitment to a greener future, earning a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System<\/a> (STARS<\/abbr>) Silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This achievement recognize UH<\/abbr> Mānoa\u2019s<\/span> STARS<\/abbr> Report<\/a> is publicly available on the STARS<\/abbr> website.<\/p>\n

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“Earning a STARS<\/abbr> Silver rating is a testament to the incredible collaboration across our campus to integrate sustainability into everything we do—from the classroom to our physical facilities,” said UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> Institute of Sustainability and Resilience<\/a> (ISR<\/abbr>) Director Makena Coffman. “This framework not only celebrates our current successes in teaching and research but provides us with a clear roadmap to further reduce our environmental footprint and enhance resilience both for our campus and island community.”<\/p>\n

STARS<\/abbr> is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. The rating marks a significant step forward from previous benchmarks, aligning UH<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> with top-tier peer institutions dedicated to environmental stewardship.<\/p>\n

The successful reporting process was a joint effort between ISR<\/abbr> and the UH<\/abbr> Office of Sustainability with essential contributions from a range of departments and offices across campus. By documenting data ranging from energy-efficient infrastructure to sustainability-focused curriculum, the university has established a clear baseline for future growth.<\/p>\n

“In the process of compiling data for this year\u2019s STARS<\/abbr> Report, I probably sent over 50 emails to individuals and departments across campus,” said Elisabeth Earley, administrative officer at ISR<\/abbr>. “Everyone I reached out to was so kind and helpful and I am very thankful for their support in the reporting process. This Silver rating could not have been achieved without the wonderful folks from all corners of UH<\/abbr> Mānoa.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Leading by example<\/h2>\n

UH<\/abbr> already maintains the largest inventory of LEED<\/abbr>-certified buildings<\/a> in Â鶹´«Ã½,<\/span> including the recently awarded LEED<\/abbr> Gold certification for historic Bachman Hall. University policy currently requires all new construction and major renovations to meet a minimum of LEED<\/abbr> Silver standards.<\/p>\n

“We are incredibly proud of this milestone, which showcases that we are not just talking about sustainability, but actively measuring and improving our impact,” said Miles Topping, director of the UH<\/abbr> Office of Sustainability. “Our goal is to continue pushing these ratings to the highest level possible. By tracking these metrics, we are better equipped to lead by example and ensure a sustainable legacy for the UH<\/abbr> System and the state of Â鶹´«Ã½.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This achievement recognizes the university\u2019s sustainability efforts across academics, research, operations and campus engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":233719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1314,1038,73,9],"class_list":["post-233713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-office-of-sustainability","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t