Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 71.21
Liaison Lisa Noriega
Submission Date June 29, 2022

STARS v2.2

Yale University
PA-2: Sustainability Planning

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Lindsay Crum
Chief Manager for Sustainability Operations & Strategic Data
Yale Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address sustainability in curriculum and/or research?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to academics and the plan(s) in which they are published:

Yes. The Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 contains goals on Applied Research and Active Learning (to identify pathways for both and the use of the campus as a living laboratory) and for a Sustainability Network (to foster connections between the university's scholarship and operations).


Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address student, employee, or community engagement for sustainability?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to engagement and the plan(s) in which they are published:

The Sustainability Action Planning program encompasses all 14 residential colleges (tailored to students), professional schools, library system, athletics, and operational units. These plans include goals around materials management, health & well-being, and energy savings, and are all tailored to the stakeholders within each unit. The complete set of action plans can be found at sustainability.yale.edu/vision-approach


Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address sustainability in operations?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to operations and the plan(s) in which they are published:

Yes. The Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 contains many operational goals, from energy reduction goals to space utilization efficiency goal, to stormwater management goals. A sample of specific goal examples include a goal around high-performance design standards (so that Yale can update its design requirements for high-performance building design), campus development for carbon neutrality (a strategy that increases energy conservation and renewable energy generation), and enhanced space use policy (to improve utilization of university buildings by reducing redundancies and excess capacity).


Does the institution have a published plan or plans that include measurable sustainability objectives that address diversity, equity, and inclusion; sustainable investment/finance; or wellbeing?:
Yes

A list or sample of the measurable sustainability objectives related to administration and the plan(s) in which they are published:

Yes. The Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 includes many health and well-being goals, including a goal on sustainablity, healthy, and well-being (to increase awareness of health benefits of sustainability initiatives and improve goal outcomes); food literacy and resilience (creating a food action plan to measure the ecological and social impacts of on-campus food preparation and consumption); sustainable catering (campus-wide sustainable catering standards); and a sustainability inclusion and justice initiative (to promote dialogue about sustainability, inclusion, and justice on campus and in our city).


Does the institution have a published strategic plan or equivalent guiding document that includes sustainability at a high level? :
Yes

The institution’s highest guiding document (upload):
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Website URL where the institution’s highest guiding document is publicly available:
Which of the following best describes the inclusion of sustainability in the highest guiding document?:
Major theme

The institution's sustainability plan (upload):
Website URL where the institution's sustainability plan is publicly available:
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Does the institution have a formal statement in support of sustainability endorsed by its governing body?:
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The formal statement in support of sustainability:
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The institution’s definition of sustainability:
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Is the institution an endorser or signatory of the following?:
Yes or No
The Earth Charter ---
The Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) ---
ISCN-GULF Sustainable Campus Charter ---
Pan-Canadian Protocol for Sustainability ---
SDG Accord ---
Second Nature’s Carbon Commitment (formerly known as the ACUPCC), Resilience Commitment, and/or integrated Climate Commitment ---
The Talloires Declaration (TD) ---
UN Global Compact ---
Other multi-dimensional sustainability commitments (please specify below) ---

A brief description of the institution’s formal sustainability commitments, including the specific initiatives selected above:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability planning efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Yale has a comprehensive Framework for Campus Planning that is distinct from the university’s Sustainability Plan. The Framework, which is actively in use, can be found here: https://facilities.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Design%20Standards/YALEFRMW%20SUST%20SUPP.pdf
The documentation supplied above is the Sustainability Supplement to the Framework, an integral element to the Framework itself.


Yale has a comprehensive Framework for Campus Planning that is distinct from the university’s Sustainability Plan. The Framework, which is actively in use, can be found here: https://facilities.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Design%20Standards/YALEFRMW%20SUST%20SUPP.pdf
The documentation supplied above is the Sustainability Supplement to the Framework, an integral element to the Framework itself.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.