Our Philosophy

We base our instruments on a broad philosophy that encompasses the pillar of sustainability: Environmental, Social, and Economic.

The Criteria and Indicators

We selected criteria that are generally considered to be of importance by universities concerned with sustainability. These include the collection of basic information of the size of the university and its zoning profile, whether urban, suburban, or rural. Beyond this we would like to see the degree of green space. The next category of information concerns with electricity consumption because of its link to our carbon footprint. Then we would like to know about transportation, water usage, waste management, setting & infrastructure, energy & climate change, and education & Research. Beyond these indicators, we would like to get a picture about how the university is responding to or dealing with the issues of sustainability through policies, actions, and communication. The criteria are:

Scoring

Scoring for each item will be numeric so that our data can be processed statistically. Scores will be simple counts of things, or responses on a scale of some sort.

The Weighting of Criteria

Each of the criteria will be categorized in a general class of information and when we process the results, the raw scores will be weighted to give a final calculation.

Refining and Improving the Research Instrument

While we have put every effort into the design and implementation of the questionnaire, we realize that this first version is bound to have shortcomings. Therefore, we will be reviewing the criteria and the weightings continuously to reflect input from participants and state of the art developments in the field. We welcome your comments and suggestions.