Yale Sustainability

09/25/2026

What if the buildings of the future were made from trees? 🌳

Mass timber is opening new possibilities for lower-carbon construction — from mid-rise housing to university buildings. At Yale, we’re increasingly incorporating mass timber into projects across campus, including 37 Hillhouse Avenue, the Yale Divinity School Living Village, and the Yale Peabody Museum. 🪵🏢

But building with wood isn’t automatically sustainable. How forests are managed, how mass timber is manufactured, and what happens to the material at the end of a building’s life all matter...

Read our conversation with Alan Organschi, Professor in the Practice and Director of the Building Lab at Yale School of Architecture, to learn more about the promise — and complexities — of mass timber as a construction material.

https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-mass-timber

09/24/2026

What happens when an institution like Yale makes a commitment to decarbonize its campus?

The impact can ripple far beyond campus.

That was the focus of yesterday’s Yale @ Climate Week NYC session, “The Ripple Effect: Institutional Decarbonization as Regional Catalyst,” convened by Yale Planetary Solutions.

The panel, co-moderated by Lindsay Crum, Associate Director of the Yale Office of Sustainability, and Misha Seme-Lev, Associate University Architect for Sustainability, brought together leaders from Yale, government, and the private sector to explore how institutional investments in geothermal energy, low-carbon building materials, food waste diversion, and other climate solutions can help strengthen markets, build workforce capacity, and accelerate innovation across Connecticut.

Among the themes that emerged:
🌱 Institutional purchasing can help emerging climate solutions scale.
🏗️ Building differently can create demand for new technologies and materials.
👷 Major projects can help develop the workforce needed for a low-carbon economy.
🔄 Institutional investments can strengthen regional supply chains and circular economies.
💡 And sometimes, someone has to be willing to take the first step.

As Yale Vice President for Facilities, Campus Development, and Sustainability J. Mike Bellamy said during the discussion, when Yale is willing to try something different, “that changes the whole conversation.”

It was an inspiring reminder that decarbonization isn’t just about reducing emissions on a campus. It’s also about helping create the conditions for broader climate action. 🌎

09/18/2026

Need wheels for a short trip in New Haven? Ride New Haven bikeshare has you covered! 🚴 This year, Yale students and employees can access free memberships and 20 minutes of ride time per day on Ride New Haven e-bikes. It's a fun, healthy, and way to move. 🌳

This program is supported by a generous grant from the Thomas L. Kempner, Jr., Foundation, Inc, managed by Yale’s Office of Sustainability. The grant will strengthen New Haven’s bikeshare system by adding 10 additional e-bikes to the city’s fleet and funding one year of operations and maintenance for the new bikes.

Learn about the benefit and how to sign up: https://your.yale.edu/campus-essentials/getting-around-campus/bike.

08/28/2026

Welcome to the new year! Whether you’re entering your last year of graduate study 🌳 or you're just joining the Yale family 🌱, we’ve got you covered with a guide to make your campus experience a little more sustainable!

Find more information, resources, and ways to get involved with the Office of Sustainability in our LinkTree!

07/17/2026

Feelings of climate anxiety—also called eco-anxiety or eco-grief– can spike during catastrophic events like the Canadian wildfires and enveloping smoke. In this explainer from our archives, Yale experts Anthony Leiserowitz and Sarah Lowe discuss the rising tide of climate anxiety and how collective action can serve as an antidote. Read the story: https://sustainability.yale.edu/explainers/yale-experts-explain-climate-anxiety

06/29/2026

Preserving the past shouldn’t cost the future. 🌍

Museums and collections storage spaces require tight, around-the-clock controls for temperature, humidity, and light—and that comes with a big energy footprint. Yale’s Environmental Monitoring Data Project is tackling this challenge by uniting conservators and collections specialists with IT experts and Facilities staff to improve how environmental data is gathered, shared, and put to work.

In our new video, Christine McCarthy from the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Yale University Library explains how better data can support smarter decisions—reducing energy use by as much as 25% while protecting collections for generations.

Filmed at Yale West Campus and Yale Peabody Museum

05/29/2026

This year, we celebrated 20 years since Yale’s Office of Sustainability was founded—and we’re feeling grateful (and energized) by the progress our community has made. Net campus emissions are down 43% since 2005, 37 buildings are certified LEED Gold or Platinum, and Spring Salvage has diverted 663 tons of household goods from the waste stream. Read our 2025 Impact Report and let us know: what can we achieve in the next 20 years? https://heyzine.com/flip-book/8e8a697252.html Yale University

Created with the Heyzine flipbook maker

05/22/2026

We're still buzzing from our annual Bike to Work Breakfast. 🚲 A great coming together of the New Haven cycling community, capped off by a press conference with Mayor Justin Elicker and the City of New Haven to highlight new bike-friendly initiatives in our city. Thanks to all who joined us in promoting active, zero-emission transportation during : the Farmington Canal Rail-to-Trail Association, New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation, CTrides, Ride New Haven, Connecticut Department of Transportation, New Haven Friends of the Farmington Canal Greenway, Handsome Dan, and CCAP.

05/14/2026

Congratulations to Silliman College (aka ) for taking home the trophy in this year’s “Erase the Waste: Boola Bowl Challenge!” 🍽️🪴🏆

Silliman diners produced just 7.9 pounds of food waste per 100 swipes on April 14—showing how individual choices add up to real change. A huge thank you to the dining hall kitchen staff, peer educators, and everyone who participated to make this event such a success!

We can’t wait to see which college claims the title next year! 🌎🌳

05/14/2026

Congratulations to Silliman College for taking home the trophy in this year’s "Erase the Waste: Boola Bowl Challenge!" 🍽️🪴🏆

On April 12, we joined forces with Yale Hospitality and the Yale College Sustainability Peer Educators to host a friendly, campus-wide competition to encourage residential college diners to reduce food waste. After a spirited family dinner, Silliman College came out on top—producing just 7.9 pounds of food waste per 100 swipes.

A huge thank you to the dining hall kitchen staff, peer educators, and everyone who participated to make this event such a success!

We can’t wait to see which college claims the title next year! 🌎🌳