Assembly LXVII
Yale in a Green World:
Meeting the Challenge of Sustainability
November 15-17, 2007
Executive Summary
Thursday Sessions: "Yale in a Green World"
* Welcome and Opening Remarks
* Introduction
* Student Panel
* Breakout Sessions
o Renewable Energy Powering Yale
o Green Design and Construction at Yale
o Moving Yale: Meeting the University’s Transportation Challenges
o The Way We Eat: The Yale Sustainable Food Project and the Yale Farm
o Moving Blue to Green: Creating Sustainable Lifestyles in Yale College
o Yale and Sustainability in New Haven
* Afternoon Session: A Larger View
* Q&A with Paul Anastas, Michelle Bell, Dan Esty, Jerome Ringo and Gus Speth
Assembly Welcome and Opening Remarks
Assembly Chair Stephen Scher ’56, ’66 PhD, welcomed the delegates and alumni volunteers to the Assembly on behalf of the Association of Yale Alumni and the Board of Governors and introduced the Assembly topic: ‘Yale in a Green World: Meeting the Challenge of Sustainability.’ He spoke about his own ‘ignorance’ on the topic when it was first suggested, reflecting on his own increased appreciation of its importance and greater understanding of how much there was to learn about sustainability as well as the leadership role Yale is taking in these efforts.
Scher went on to introduce James Gustave Speth Jr ’64, ’69 LLB, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor in the Practice of Environment Policy and Julie Newman, Director of the Yale Office of Sustainability. He shared a little known fact that in 1894 Yale adopted the color blue as its official school color, but prior to that the school color was in fact green!
Introduction to the Assembly
Dean Speth began his remarks by commenting on the impressive turnout for the Assembly, and on the timelessness and importance of the topic. He reflected on how as our economy and communities have grown, our environment has deteriorated; how adopting a new approach in how we deal with the environment is an urgent challenge. He also spoke of how half of the tropical forests are gone as are half the wetlands, how seventy-five percent of marine fisheries have been fished to capacity, twenty percent of the coral is gone, the ozone is depleted, and species are disappearing as rapidly as did the dinosaurs.
He shared that today’s environmental initiatives are not working, and continuing to do what we are doing now, even without any population growth will destroy the climate. He did say that things are looking a little more hopeful with more public awareness of the issues than ever before, and pressures on the government to take actions in going “green.” He noted that the U.S. still has a ways to go with its energy policies and that we have only just begun to reduce our greenhouse gases.
Julie Newman, Director of the Yale Office of Sustainability was then introduced. Ms. Newman spoke about how Yale is leading the way in training leaders in sustainability. Yale has established and built an Office of Sustainability which dually reports to the Provost Office and the Facilities Department. The Office of Sustainability now has three full-time staff, ten student research assistants, and 24 additional student assistants located in the residential colleges. In addition, Yale is taking a national leadership role in many different organizations, including but not limited to:
* The Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium with a steering committee of 20 member colleges which Julie founded and now chairs
* The International Alliance of Research Universities
* The Council of Ivy Presidents and the Ivy plus Sustainability Work Group
Some of the challenges facing the Office of Sustainability are advancing sustainability within the context of the competing goals for campus expansion, the purchase of the new West Campus, the costs of sustainability efforts, and evolving philosophies in the field. Some of the highlights that the Office will focus upon over the next year and a half include:
* Developing a 7 – 10 year strategic plan
* Developing a process to evaluate Yale land and water management
* Publishing a position paper on "Climate Neutrality"
* Implementation of transportation recommendations
* Launching a sustainability leadership program for staff
* Continuing to develop student engagement
Student Panel
Student presenters Sara Elizabeth Smiley Smith '07 MPH, '07 MESC, '13 (expected PhD in FES); Katherine Gasner '09, co-chair of Student Taskforce for Environmental Partnership (STEP), and Liza Goldman Huertas '08 MED talked about their roles as student leaders in the area of sustainability on a panel moderated by Julie Newman, Director of Yale’s Office of Sustainability. Sara Smiley Smith, a research assistant in the Yale Office of Sustainability, addressed her work as "spring salvage coordinator." Yale became aware of a successful program at Harvard, where items normally abandoned by students when moving out of dorms were collected and resold at "move in" time, raising a good deal of money and reducing trash. In Yale's version of move-out recycling, items had been donated to local non-profits but, compared to Harvard, the program did not avert a significant amount of trash. With a green fund grant, the Yale Office of Sustainability reinvigorated the move out effort over the past two years with excellent results using 2005 as the baseline with 18 tons of move out. The implementation of a new program led to increases in the amount of items collected in 2006 to 38 tons and in 2007 to 54 tons. Improvements were attributed to obtaining warehouse space (where items could be organized and displayed for non-profit organizations, much like a department store – "a village, you could live in it"); having trucks available, beginning in 2006, to haul furniture to the warehouse; gaining the cooperation of Yale grounds crews and custodial staff at move out time, with "zone leaders" appointed to coordinate activities at this hectic time; and better connections with local non-profit groups. Ms. Smith added that a "Sustainability Summit" is planned for April 2008.
Kate Gasner is co-chair of the undergraduate organization STEP; there are 24 STEP coordinators, two per college, and these are paid positions. The STEP program operates through peer-to-peer dialogue, with the object of changing culture and behavior. Kate described a recent special project, "Efficient Eaters," in vivid, amusing detail. At one arbitrarily-designated dinner meal, STEP coordinators in every college dining hall scraped the plates of departing diners and later weighed the discarded food scraps. Among 2700 eaters, 482 pounds of food was "wasted." This data was conveyed to students along with a list of "Efficient Eating Tips." Kate believes that STEP coordinators feel accountable for results because they are paid for their work; it is much more difficult to keep student volunteers on track.
Liza Goldman Huertas, a fifth-year medical student, is one of the founders of the Environmental Health Group at the Yale School of Medicine. The goals of this newly-formed student organization are to understand the environment as a human health issue, and to use students in the health professions as advocates for environmental justice. The group organized an environmental justice tour of Fair Haven. Among recent developments at the Medical School, environmental health will be considered by the curriculum committee, sustainable food is being offered in the dining halls, and a light bulb exchange has been organized. Yale School of Medicine students have also launched a visible campaign to "Cut CO2 by 80% by 2050."
Topical Breakout Sessions
Following the opening plenaries, Assembly participants attended one of six breakout sessions where they could get a behind-the-scenes look at some aspect of sustainability at Yale. A brief summary of each session follows:
Renewable Energy Powering Yale
John Bollier Associate Vice President for Facilities Operations, and Jerry Hill, Director of Systems Engineering, led a session looking at Yale’s Greenhouse Gas reduction goal and the strategies for meeting this goal. Participants learned the central role of renewable energy at Yale in these efforts. Yale’s greenhouse gas reduction policy began with a 2005 announcement of our intention to reduce its GHG emissions to 10% below the 1990 level which is a 43% reduction from the 2005 level and a 58% reduction from the projected 2020 level. The easy steps have been taken and so most GHG-reducing investments to date have a positive economic return. However, most future investments will likely incur an economic cost. For example, the Green building premium is 2-10% and renewable energy sources are more costly than fossil fuels. However, the estimated cost of reaching the GHG goal is less than 1% of operating budget and is one that the University feels it should be incurring in order to help to preserve the planet for the future. The session ended with a bus tour of campus featuring current and future installations of renewable energy including solar cells, fuel cells, ground-source heat pumps, and micro-wind turbines.
Green Design and Construction at Yale
Leading this session was David Spalding, Program Manager for Construction and Renovation for the Yale Office of Facilities and chair of the new Sustainable Design and Construction Committee, who was joined by Paul Stoller ’98 MArch, Director of the international environmental design firm Altier Ten, and Stephen Kieran ’73, architect and partner in Kieran Timberlake Associates to talk about sustainable design and construction at Yale. They discussed rating systems and standards for green design and talked about some recently constructed Yale buildings and their sustainability. These include:
1. The Daniel L. Malone Engineering Center on 55 Prospect Street – LEED gold with many energy saving measures among other features (such as construction waste management).
2. Class of ’54 Chemistry Building, 285 Prospect Street – LEED silver. Particular effort to make fume hoods more efficient.
3. 32-36 Edgewood Avenue; ultimately a building for the sculpture department but currently housing the School of Architecture, completed in 2007. Will be LEED gold, possibly platinum
4. Kroon Hall, a new building for the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies currently under construction – intended to be flagship building of sustainable design. LEED platinum, either first or second in Connecticut (depending on whether sculpture building gets platinum rating), one of only 20 in the world. Includes wood from Yale Meyers Forest. Decisions made for the Kroon project were based primarily on efficiency and sustainability, and not necessarily cost-efficiency.
In terms of green construction, Yale is looking at energy use reduction, but also reducing water use, increasing the use of recycled materials, and recycling construction waste. To conclude the session, Mr. Stoller led some of the participants on a tour of the Malone building while Mr. Kiernan brought the rest of the group to the Edgewood Avenue building to see many of the green features discussed.
Moving Yale: Meeting the University’s Transportation Challenges
Holly Parker, Director of Sustainable Transportation Systems, led a session examining the progress and challenges in the area of transportation at Yale. Highlights of the session included a demonstration of the new Yale Shuttle GPS Shuttle locator which shows the Yale Shuttle vehicle locations in real time, as well as the new car sharing service on campus, "Zipcar," www.zipcar.com/yale. Both of these technology-driven transportation solutions allow members of the Yale community to leave their car at home and commute by transit, in a carpool, on foot, or by bike, knowing that they have easy and accessible transportation options available to them once on campus. The introduction of B20 biodiesel fuel mixed with Ultra-low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) for the Yale Shuttles in the Spring of 2006 was also discussed. There has been and continues to be a transition to alternative fuel vehicles at Yale, including a hybrid truck used by Grounds Maintenance, a Global Electric Motor (GEM) car used by Yale Recycling, and a Segway used by the Yale Police. Bicycling and walking remain the most sustainable forms of transportation available, as they also address the sedentary lifestyles that put our community's health at risk. Bicycling is the most expeditious way to navigate Yale's campus, and work with the City of New Haven and a local cycling group is underway to plan improvements to bicycle infrastructure. Leading by example is Yale's Manager of Parking and Transit, who uses a university-provided bicycle to get around campus. The group also had the opportunity to experience mass transit at Yale by taking a ride on the biodiesel-fueled Yale Shuttle bus.
The Way We Eat: The Yale Sustainable Food Project and the Yale Farm
Melina Shannon-DiPietro, Co-Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, discussed the history of the Project, from its founding in 2001 by a group composed of students, staff, President Rick Levin, and renowned chef of Chez Panisse Alice Waters, to its current programs. She spoke about the programs of the Sustainable Food Project including managing a model organic farm on campus, working with Yale University Dining Services to develop and implement a sustainable dining program and running diverse programs that support academic inquiry related to food and agriculture. After Ms. DiPietro’s presentation, Alexandra Romanoff (BC ’09), Douglass Endrizzi (ES ’10), and Jonathan Dach (JE ’08) spoke about their experiences with the Sustainable Food Project and answered questions about their involvement and about the Project’s activities. They also shared organically grown carrots from the farm with those in attendance. At the close of the presentation, Ms. DiPietro, the students and session participants visited the Yale Farm on Edwards Street.
Moving Blue to Green: Creating Sustainable Lifestyles in Yale College
Recycling Coordinator CJ May ’89 MEM and Education and Outreach Manager for the Office of Sustainability Robert Ferretti shared their thoughts on the challenge of changing student behaviors to support a more sustainable lifestyle in Yale College. Studies have shown that traditional methods for informing and educating students about recycling are only half-effective. Students may learn about the problem and become sympathetic, but their behavior does not change. To try and overcome this challenge, Yale Recycling is introducing methods such as community-based social marketing (CBSM) to effect behavior change. A combination of prompts, pledges, utilization of social networks, and establishment of norms will, in the long run, make recycling a part of life at Yale. For example, placement of aesthetically-appealing recycling bins along walkways serves a dual purpose. More important than their ability to capture cans, bottles and papers discarded by passersby, they subconsciously convey the message that recycling is a part of life at Yale.
A number of student groups are also working for cultural change on campus. For example, the Student Taskforce for Environmental Partnership (STEP) runs many programs to engage students around areas of sustainability. For example, the Energy Team works to reduce energy consumption while the Waste Team sponsors the Eli Exchange Bins, the bottled water reduction campaign and spring salvage. STEP also undertakes a Light 4 Light campaign to get students to exchange incandescent bulbs for energy saving florescent bulbs and an Unplugged Campaign to encourage students to unplug all electric devices when they are away from campus on break. However, the challenges of changing behavior continue; education alone is not enough and the priority of students is being students. The session ended with a campus tour highlighting the ways in which some of these outreach efforts are visible around Yale.
Yale and Sustainability in New Haven
T. Reginald Solomon ’98, Program Director in the Office of New Haven and State Affairs, and Colleen Murphy-Dunning, Director of the Urban Resources Initiative (URI), shared their thoughts on the partnership among URI, the City, and Yale in fostering community-based land stewardship, developing and supporting sustainable urban ecosystem management, and promoting environmental education while providing Yale students with clinical learning opportunities. Participants boarded buses for a tour of reclaimed open spaces in the inner City neighborhoods that have been created by volunteers in partnership with URI and Yale students who have worked in the program as interns.
Discussions also touched upon the roles and responsibilities of wealthier citizens in New Haven who have choices about what kinds of cars to drive and how to use their land and manage their homes and the ways in which Yale might help to educate them about decisions that are better for the environment.
A Larger View: Research and Thinking on Sustainability
Following the breakout sessions, the Assembly participants came together again in the Yale Art Gallery McNeil Lecture Hall to hear from a number of Yale faculty working in the area of sustainability. Dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Gus Speth Jr ’64, ’69 LLB, moderated the panel which included Paul Anastas; Professor in the Practice of Green Chemistry and Director of the Green Chemistry Institute; James Axley; Professor at the School of Architecture and consultant and adviser to the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the European International Energy Agency; Daniel Esty ’86 JD, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Director of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and Director of the Center for Business & Environment at Yale; and Jerome Ringo, Dorothy McCluskey Fellow at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Chair of the National Wildlife Federation, the first-ever African-American to hold such a post with a major national conservation organization.
Paul Anastas noted that "green" chemistry is getting attention in the mainstream press not only because of lead in toys, diethylene glycol in toothpaste, etc., but also because "green" is both the color of the environment and the color of money. Green Chemistry is showing how you use basic scientific innovation to meet environmental and economic goals simultaneously. Since all we have in the world is matter and energy, and green chemistry is seeking to redesign the matter (materials) that are the basis of our society and economy to be more sustainable, it is truly fundamental. In January of 2007 the Center for Green Chemistry at Yale was launched. The Center is comprised of faculty from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Chemical Engineering. It has as its goals:
* To develop the next generation of products, manufacturing processes and nano technology, without negative implications for the planet.
* To introduce new courses at Yale and produce materials for educators
* To guide companies in meeting environmental goals
* Outreach and sharing of knowledge. Currently more than thirty countries have green chemistry initiatives, but Yale has the only interdisciplinary center, one which focuses on implementation including research, education and application.
The Center seeks to be a catalyst for how to design sustainable products and processes and serve as a model for others to duplicate. We are just beginning, but we have had a good start and reason to be optimistic.
Jerome Ringo spoke about the goal of reducing dependence on foreign oil, reducing carbon emissions, and creating a new green economy with 3,000,000 new jobs. He noted the importance of building a movement that is diverse. The galvanizing issue is global warming because everyone is affected. The "greening" of American economy will require the participation of people of color who must understand the need to re-align their priorities; everyone must buy in. Some of the issues driving America into green thinking include the war in Iraq, hurricanes, and the melting ice cap. Everyone is experiencing climate variations like never before. It is critical to involve universities and young people; this is a social and an economic issue, really a people issue.
James Axley stated that in general there is ignorance about environmental science in field of architecture. The new Joint Master of Archtiecture and Master of Environmental Management program offered by Yale’s School of Architecture and School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is unique in that it offers environmental science and policy, landscape, industrial and urban ecology, and sustainable urban design courses. It is directed to environmentalists who want to create as well as manage environments and young architects who seek to shape sustainable community, urban and regional scale environments. As Chair of the Provost’s Sustainability Council for the last 10 months, Pr. Axley has been able to provide advice and gain a perspective on what Yale has been doing in this area. Yale is in a leadership position in the area of campus sustainability. Pr. Axley said that Yale wants to engage faculty and students in the process, and one way is through a proposed "Green Visions" program.
This one-year program would have student Green Visions Fellows investigate sustainable campus initiatives elsewhere in world over the summer and on their return to campus work with their faculty advisors to mount a public lecture series and an associated spring course on the subject or their research. In the area of architecture, he feels building design has been driven by half measures such as the LEED rating system.
Michelle Bell discussed how human health has always been a primary driver of environmental policy. Economic analyses of pollution indicates that the impact on human health often dwarfs all others. Dr. Bell, jointly appointed with Forestry and Environmental Studies and Epidemiology and Public Health, studies the human response to air pollution. One major study recently undertaken found that exposure to ozone was associated with higher death risk and that there is no safe level of ozone. Climate change is an issue here as ozone levels rise under higher temperatures. Another study found that a higher risk of low birth weights of babies whose mothers were exposed to large amounts of transportation pollution. And so there is a growing body of evidence indicating that pollution is negatively impacting human health all around the world. Other climate change studies will be looking at how climate induced natural disasters impact human health as they result in outbreaks of malaria and cholera and create environmental refugees. To date, climate change policy discussions have not greatly involved issues of human health, although this is anticipated to change.
Dan Esty began by talking about how he looks at the interface between business and the environment. He noted that there is a “green wave” sweeping across the business community. Business leaders realize:
* Environment and energy issues are core to successful business strategy
* Environment is not just about managing regulations, costs and risks (downsides). There is a big upside, opportunity. Those that come forward with solutions will make money.
Four big-picture drivers for change:
1. Price of energy - logic of efficiency is very compelling to business
2. Changing regulatory environment - greenhouse gas controls (27 governors have put these in place, 600 mayors, and major corporations like Alcoa and GE are asking for Federal regulations). The public is ready for action, thanks to the efforts of those like Al Gore.
3. Nature is impinging on many companies – and climate change may extend the impact.
4. A new set of stakeholders – communities, employees, customers and capital markets – are all asking companies about their environmental performance.
A new breed of green businessman is emerging and there is a portfolio of approaches that governments can use to create incentives for business to participate in the environmental innovation process. These policy instruments include taxation, pollution allowances and incentives. Yale is at the cutting edge of thinking in the interface between business and the environment, especially through the Center for Business and the Environment which continues to expand the number of courses offered as demand increases.
Q&A:
* How is Yale’s involvement with China affecting their views on environmental policy?
* What about population growth?
* Do you support the development of nuclear power? What is Yale doing to train nuclear engineers?
* How do small manufacturers get the message?
* Privatization: Is it a concern?
* What about raising the gas tax?
* Where do presidential candidates stand on sustainability issues?
* What about peak oil production?
* What are your thoughts on biofuels?
Question: How is Yale’s involvement with China affecting their views on environmental policy?
Michelle Bell: EPH has done a lot of work in China. Very shortly high-ranking Chinese researchers will be coming to EPH and professors from EPH will teach in China.
Dan Esty: The China question is critical. Good news: if we get them on right environmental trajectory, nothing else will matter. Bad news: if we don’t get them on the right environment trajectory, nothing else will matter. But, the Chinese government has started to take issue seriously. The overwhelming problem of factory emissions in Hong Kong has made them wake up. “Harmonious” growth is being promoted in Beijing, but it is tough for them to manage. Fortunately, the Chinese leadership does now recognize the problem and knows pollution can be a source of social unrest. Last year alone there were over 50,000 pollution-related protests in China.
Jerome Ringo: I keynoted at conference in Berlin and in audience was the Vice Minister of Construction for China. He was very interested in what I had to say and so I will be speaking in China in March.
Question: What about population growth?
Paul Anastas: This is one of most complex issues and is dependent on the state of the development in any country. Historically, higher growth leads to higher degradation of environment and resource depletion. We need to achieve an increased state of development without the accompanying environmental degradation of the past to stabilize population growth.
Question: Do you support the development of nuclear power? What is Yale doing to train nuclear engineers?
Jerome Ringo: The Apollo Alliance supports a broad range of solutions. Nuclear is one that is feasible if the waste can be taken care of. The American public not fully convinced of this, but Europe is. However, we at the Apollo Alliance believe we should consider other alternatives first.
Gus Speth: I have spent a long time fighting aspects of nuclear power. A way to do it safely is needed, but we shouldn’t be promoting a plutonium economy, for fear of proliferation. Any venture into nuclear power has to be very carefully controlled, and must be failsafe. I recognize that we may need every power source available to us, but not all options will be safe.
Question: How do small manufacturers get the message?
Dan Esty: Many small entrepreneurs are getting into high tech, particularly in India and China. There should be a structure that rewards success. People must be engaged and passionate. Right now there is lots of venture capital in green tech from former dot.comers.
Question: Privatization: Is it a concern? (San Francisco Bay cleanup, Iraq problems)
Gus Speth: Yes, I’m concerned. Recently there was a Business Week article about cities selling off contracts to provide services previously provided by the cities themselves. The public sector needs to continue providing key services; it’s more suited to that role. But, currently more contractors work for the Federal government than do actual Federal employees.
Jerome Ringo: Labor unions are concerned with contract workers in oil industry. And, downsizing has made working in these industries more dangerous.
Question: What about raising the gas tax?
Michelle Bell: There is an expectation that as gas prices rise, gas guzzlers will disappear. But this has not happened. The business sector needs to raise awareness.
Question: Where do presidential candidates stand on sustainability issues?
Jerome Ringo: I’ve met with all major candidates and they all seem to get it; they recognize the benefit of a green economy, the need for training, etc. However, some are stepping up better than others. McCain, Edwards, Richardson, Clinton get it; Obama has 99% positive environmental voting record. Most Republicans are supportive, but they haven’t prioritized environmental issues.
Question: What about peak oil production?
Dan Esty: How fast do we push gas prices up, and how fast can the cost of alternatives come down? We should have harm charges across the board.
Paul Anastas: The resources we’re using are not enough and all the efficiency in the world will not help. We have to move to transformative technologies.
Question: What are your thoughts on biofuels?
Dan Esty: A corn-based ethanol future is insane! If we’re serious about ethanol, we should remove trade barriers to build imports of sugar-based ethanol. Note the shift away from farmers growing hops and barley to corn. When beer is pricey, people will notice.
Paul Anastas: Biofuels are a great example of doing the right thing the wrong way. Can you pursue biofuels in a way that makes sense?
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