A commitment to sustainability drives our work at YSE on all fronts, from the knowledge generated in our research, the learning in our classrooms, and the decisions we make in operating our facilities. Our School, situated in a University that is more than 300 years old, offers a plethora of opportunities for evaluating long-standing ways of managing things, and considering new, more sustainable pathways for the future. As students at YSE preparing to take on prominent environmental leadership roles, we challenge you to actively engage in this exciting work during your time with us at Yale.
Yale has a vibrant community of faculty, staff and students engaged in sustainability work—both formally and informally—who will welcome your partnership. The Yale Office of Sustainability is the organizing body for campus-wide sustainability activities. The university has had Sustainability Strategic Plans in place since 2010, with the current plan extending through 2025.
YSE strives to provide leadership for sustainability through engagement with a wide range of partners, from the local to the international. We seek to explore new ideas and strategies, and in our YSE Strategic Plan we state that we strive to be a model school at the university, serving as a living laboratory for research, teaching and engagement for sustainability. The Sustainability Committee, a collaborative group of paid student research assistants, faculty and staff, leads YSE Sustainability work. This group works to implement the YSE Sustainability Action Plan through projects in collaboration with the broader university. If you are interested in engaging with sustainability work at YSE, please reach out to Melanie Quigley to learn more.
On a practical level, YSE has a proud tradition of encouraging its community members to bring their own containers to YSE events to reduce the use of single-use items. Starting with orientation in August and continuing during your time at YSE, please remember to bring your own reusable containers to campus (e.g., water bottles, mugs, cutlery, food storage containers with a lid, etc.). Sinks and refrigerators are located in YSE’s buildings to help with cleaning and for storing leftovers. Thank you for your partnership with this effort!