In 2014, the Office of Sustainability at Colorado College released its first State of Sustainability Report. This report followed the first Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS^®) report created in 2014 and was intended to condense and disseminate the full STARS^® report. The State of Sustainability Report provided a benchmark for the college's overall sustainability performance and provided a platform for recommending specific strategies en route to a holistic systems approach to the integration of educational, engagement, operational, and planning outcomes.

Many of those recommendations have been realized in the five years since the benchmark report through the impressive efforts of the Campus Sustainability Council, Facilities Services, individual academic departments, student efforts and persistence, support from the administration and the Board of Trustees, The Colorado College Office of Sustainability, and countless individuals who are dedicated to making Colorado College a model for sustainability at all levels. As a result, Colorado College moved from a STARS^® Silver status in 2014 to Gold in 2015, and has remained at that level since. In 2017, Colorado College, at the time, opened the doors of the Net-Zero Tutt Library, which continues to serve as a reminder of the college's sustainability innovation and a model for future buildings and renovations.

These annual reports are meant to be accessible to all parties interested in sustainability efforts on campus and the future of Colorado College. They provide information to community members, and students regarding the sustainability efforts that are ongoing at Colorado College as detailed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability's (AASHE) STARS^® report. Each document uses the STARS^® scoring and incorporates current and future efforts outlined in the sustainability action plan.