Abstract

Sustainable development is a concern for countries, businesses and organizations sensitive to excess in terms of utilized resources. This is evident in international initiatives which aim to establish guiding principles for institutions to follow regarding what is considered to be socially responsible behavior, allowing for assessment and the identification of objectives. As higher education institutions, colleges and universities have a public responsibility to generate and transmit knowledge to society as a whole, as well as an economic and social responsibility regarding resource management; hence the importance of specifically analyzing their socially responsible behavior. This paper introduces an initiative which has been implemented in the United States and Canada; one of its aims is to identify best practices in this field and obtain knowledge that allows for the creation and development of a guide to social responsibility adapted specifically to higher education institutions. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is an innovative initiative developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in which all higher education institutions in the United States and Canada are welcome to participate. Their analysis will allow us to determine which measurable aspects will become a part of the sustainability culture that is developing in the higher education institutions that participate in this initiative. Furthermore, it will allow us to highlight the ethical values that are being promoted among its special interest groups