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										<p>Thanks to a recent study, the Yale Office of Sustainability has a better understanding of how students and staff perceive the University's efforts to create a sustainable Yale.  The report summarizes the findings of the 2021 Yale Sustainability Survey and provides guidance for improving education, outreach, and policy decisions around sustainability initiatives.</p>
 <p>The survey, which was distributed in October 2021, is intended to provide an accurate assessment of sustainability knowledge, behaviors and areas of interest within the Yale community.  The data collected provides useful benchmarking information used to measure progress;  compare Yale with similar institutions;  and implement initiatives that will help increase sustainability awareness and behaviors.  The 2021 survey results show that:</p>
 <p>There are opportunities to increase education and outreach around sustainability best practices, particularly in the areas of materials management;  Energy;  and water conservation.<br/>Most of the Yale community feels that it is important that Yale is committed to preserving the environment;  however, there are opportunities for the University to show more evidence of this commitment.<br/>Divestment from fossil fuels and reducing food waste are of particular interest to Yale College students.<br/>A significant portion of Yale staff have expressed interest in continuing telecommuting.<br/>The Yale community has a working knowledge of the facts related to sustainability.<br/>Members of the Yale community would be more inclined to engage in sustainability behaviors if they had clearer ways to measure and view their impact.<br/>The report is based on the findings of a survey that was first distributed in 2018 to meet the goal set by the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 to assess and improve sustainability awareness and empower action, as well as to receive the recognition in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in System of Monitoring, Evaluation and Rating of Sustainability (STARS) of Higher Education (AASHE).  Although the evaluation is planned to take place every two years, it was not possible to distribute the survey in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
 <p>Of the 600 Yale College students and nearly 1,400 employees who responded to the survey, more than half took this opportunity to also share their feedback on specific programs or initiatives they would like to see more attention on.  For example, one student expressed that they "...would like to see Yale further reduce energy use, reduce waste, and invest more in New Haven to help lead the community toward a greener future."  With these findings, the Office will establish priority projects to ensure that we are advancing the interests of the Yale community while advancing the University's sustainability goals;  for example, the Sustainability Engagement Manager will work to identify projects that are student-specific based on feedback from Yale College students.  Other respondents expressed a desire for greater transparency of sustainability data, particularly around energy, fossil fuel divestment, and materials management.  A Sustainability Data Hub was launched in 2020 for this purpose, which is constantly being updated and expanded and should be reviewed frequently.</p>
 <p>“Sustainability cannot be achieved within the silos of University leadership or operations.  It requires contributions and efforts from our entire community: everyone doing their part to build a more sustainable world.  We appreciate the information and feedback respondents provided, and we hope that reading the results encourages them to be active participants in our sustainability work at Yale.”  – Ginger Chapman, Director, Yale Office of Sustainability</p>
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