Yale has had a long history of commitment to the environment that began with the founding of the nation’s first forestry school in 1900.  In 2005 Yale established the Office of Sustainability, whose mission is to “advance sustainability within the Yale community by acting as a catalyst for information exchange and facilitating capacity building, innovation, streamlined operations, and preparation of tomorrow’s sustainability leaders.”   Importantly, that year President Richard Levin declared that Yale would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 43% by 2020, and the Office of Sustainability was to play a key role in monitoring and verifying progress.  Then in 2010 President Levin launched the creation of Yale’s first Sustainability Strategic Plan to strengthen the the University’s sustainability commitment, followed in 2016 by the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025.

Since 2020, YBG has worked closely with the Office of Sustainability in several ways.  As a result of the Sustainability Initiative, YBG members have had a regular dialogue with the leadership of the Office.  This has included an annual commentary on the Strategic Plan progress report that the Office prepares, as well as discussions of Yale’s participation in the STARS benchmarking program that compares the University’s sustainability performance with other colleges and universities on a variety of metrics.  In 2020, YBG also launched the Sustainability Fund to raise monies to support undergraduate and graduate student research projects organized by the Office.  To date over $60,000 has been raised for the Fund, and a report on its activities is provided annually.  Members of the YBG Sustainability Initiative Leadership Committee are grateful for the opportunity to communicate regularly with staff and students who are helping to lead Yale’s institutional sustainability efforts.