STARS Awards

2022 STARS Awards 

Presented at the Sustainability Breakfast in 2023. 

Most Improved

The 2022 Most Improved award goes to Government Relations for their improvement in credit EN:14: Participation in Public Policy. Special thanks to Michael J. Hardy for his work as STARS liaison for Government Relations.

Overall Top Performer Awards

The 2022 Overall Top Performer award goes to Residence Life for earning 100% of the points available in their respective STARS credits. Special thanks to Dr. Carol Binzer for serving as STARS liaison for Residence Life.

Gaining Ground Award

The 2022 Gaining Ground award was awarded to Utilities and Energy Services and the University Architect and Staff from Campus Planning, Design & Construction.

Utilities and Energy Service received this award for improving their performance in credit OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency, by .59 points.  Special thanks to Les Williams & Yasuko Sakurai for their support of STARS data collection.

The University Architect and Staff from Campus Planning, Design & Construction received this award for improving their performance in credit OP-3: Building Design & Construction, by .61 points. Special thanks to Lilia Gonzales for her support of STARS data collection. 

STARS 100

View the complete list of STARS 100 and Exemplary Credit Recipients.

2020 STARS Awards Recipients

In 2020, the STARS Awards were presented virtually due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Most Improved

For the first time, the 2020 Most Improved award was a tie.

• Utilities & Energy Services received the award for their improvement in credit OP-5: Building Energy Efficiency. Special thanks to Mr. Les Williams and Dr. Yasuko Sakurai for their work as STARS liaison for Utilities & Energy Services.
• Transportation Services earned the second award for Most Improved for their improvement in credit OP-16: Commute Modal Split. Special thanks to Mr. Ron Steedly for his work as STARS liaison for Transportation Services.

Overall Top Performer Awards

Three departments earned this award.

• The first 2020 Overall Top Performer was presented to University Libraries. Special thanks to Mr. Michael Maciel for his work as the STARS liaison for the University Libraries.  
• The second 2020 Overall Top Performer was presented to Office for Diversity. Special thanks to Dr. Jennifer Reyes for her work as the STARS liaison for the Office for Diversity. 
• The third 2020 Overall Top Performer was presented to Residence Life. Special thanks to Dr. Carol Binzer, Ms. Kristianna Bowles, and Mr. Brandon Carlson for serving as STARS liaisons for Residence Life.

AASHE Top Performer

For the second year in a row, the 2020 AASHE Top Performer was presented to the Division of Research. They received the award for earning 100% of available points in the Research section of Texas A&M’s STARS report. While this award recognizes the efforts of the entire Texas A&M research community, the Division of Research’s efforts providing data for use in the STARS portal was vital to earning recognition from AASHE. Special thanks to Dr. Mark Barteau and Mr. Matt Fry for their support of STARS data collection.

STARS 100

View the complete list of STARS 100 and Exemplary Credit Recipients.

2018 STARS Awards

Presented at the Sustainability Breakfast in 2019. 

Most Improved

The 2018 Most Improved award was presented to SSC Grounds Management for their improvement in credit OP-9, Landscape Management.

Overall Top Performer Awards

Three departments earned this award.

• The first 2018 Overall Top Performer award was presented to University Libraries.
• The second 2018 Overall Top Performer award was presented to Residence Life.
• The third 2018 Overall Top Performer award was presented to the Office for Diversity.

Above and Beyond

For the second time in award history, an award for going Above and Beyond was presented. Residence Life received this award for creating the Residence Life Sustainability Master Plan, which allowed Texas A&M to claim an innovation credit in STARS. Innovation credits are particularly impactful for STARS ratings because they add a full point on top of the current score. Aside from the STARS benefit, the Residence Life Sustainability Master Plan is the first comprehensive sustainability plan in the nation ever created specifically for a Residence Life department.

Thanks to Ms. Chareny Rydl and her team’s innovative efforts.

2016 STARS Awards

Presented at the Sustainability Breakfast in 2017.

Most Improved

The 2016 Most Improved award was presented to Utilities and Energy Services for their improvement in credit OP-3, Building Energy Consumption. 

Overall Top Performer Awards

The 2016 Overall Top Performer award was presented to the Office for Diversity.

Above and Beyond

The first ever Above and Beyond Award was presented to Leonarda Horvat of Sponsored Research Services.

On November 29, 2016 Kelly Wellman met with Kristi Billinger, Executive Director of Sponsored Research Services  and Leonarda Horvat, Information Technology Director for Sponsored Research Services to inquire about collecting sustainability related research data. The intent was to develop a data collection process so the institution could report on research for the 2017 submission. During the meeting, Ms. Horvat was enthusiastic about collecting the data and asked for a timeline. When Kelly informed her that it was too late for the 2016 submission, which was due in four business days on December 5, Ms. Horvat was not deterred. In fact, she was motivated by the challenge. Leonarda ran multiple data sets and worked over the weekend to generate the necessary information for the Office of Sustainability to review and validate. Her efforts went above and beyond and resulted in Texas A&M earning a perfect 12 of 12 points for credit AC-9 Research and Scholarship. These points played a significant role in the University earning its first STARS Gold Rating.