Sustainability Data Hub

Created with the intention of increasing sustainability data transparency and availability, the Sustainability Data Hub is a tool containing data visualizations with varying degrees of interactivity. These visualizations may evolve or change over time, and new data visualizations will be created and added to this page to reflect the most current data available. Please note that these data visualizations are only a small subset representing our sustainability progress, and that we report on all of our sustainability goals in our annual Sustainability Progress Report. Click on the upper righthand icon (“Focus mode”) of each visualization in order to interact with the data.

Fair Use

We ask all who use the Data Hub to carefully review the descriptions of the data visualizations, so that we can avoid misinterpretation as much as possible. These visualizations are intended for informational purposes only. If you have questions about the visualizations, the underlying data sets, or other sustainability data that may not be included here, please reach out to sustainability@yale.edu.
 
 

GHG emissions

Yale has been measuring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions since 2005. This visualization shows campus emissions from 2005 to 2020, which was the duration of our original emissions reduction goal. These emissions are associated with the University’s three on-campus co-generation power plants and purchased electricity and the university’s fleet. For more information about greenhouse gas emissions at Yale, including our accomplishment of reaching our 2020 goal, our progress in achieving our 2035 goal, and our shift to reporting through The Climate Registry, please visit our Greenhouse Gas Emissions page.
 

 

Paper Purchasing

This visualization shows copy paper purchasing patterns at Yale, organized by recycled content type. Interact with the visualization by checking the box next to different product types (e.g. “50% Recycled”) to see how our buying habits have changed over time.  
 
While the University makes many purchases, we have been tracking copy paper purchasing for a number of years as a way to track overall reduction as well as a shift away from virgin paper purchasing. For more information about best practices for paper use, visit the Reducing Paper Use page.
 

 

Zoom Meetings

This visualization shows the number of Zoom meetings and webinars held each month by Yale staff and faculty over the course of both fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The University had already seen a rise in Zoom meetings and webinars as many employees shifted to remote working at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March of 2020, yet the volume of teleconferencing calls increased significantly from the 2020 to the 2021 fiscal year.

2021 Sustainability Survey 

The 2021 Yale Sustainability Survey Report, summarizes findings from our biennial assessment of sustainability knowledge, behaviors, and interests across the Yale community. Respondents requested more data transparency. In response, the following interactive visualizations are available to explore report highlights. The full library of data visualizations is also available.

Sustainability Knowledge

Survey results show high levels of sustainability knowledge across the Yale community. Purchasing and product consumption is an area we can improve in.

Explore the visualization below that shows responses to the survey’s six questions about sustainability knowledge. Compare the number of correct responses in 2018 and 2021.

Hover over each bar to read the questions and their correct answers.

Sustainable Behaviors 

Respondents noted they would practice more sustainable behaviors if they had more time, more money, and/or a clearer way to measure and see the difference it made. View responses from staff and Yale College students below.

Hover over each bar to see the percentage of affirmative responses from each group. 

Yale College students were asked questions about sustainable behaviors related to energy, materials management, and water conservation in both on-campus and off-campus settings. Their responses are reflected in the visual below. To interact with this data, right click on one of the behavior categories, click “Drill through” and then click “Behaviors” to see the percentages of on- and off-campus students that practice behaviors within that category. You may hover over each bar to see the exact percentage of affirmative responses from each group.

Comments on Sustainability Initiatives

What kind of sustainability initiatives would you like to see implemented at Yale?

The responses to this open-ended question by staff and students are organized into categories below. Interact with this data by right clicking on comment category, select “Drill through” and “Sub-categories” (if applicable). This will provide the percentage of comments in each category. Full responses are available in the 2021 Sustainability Survey Report.

Co-benefits

It is important that our sustainability initiatives have broad impact. We assess the goals of the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 goals to measure “co-benefits”: positive outcomes that directly or indirectly result from their achievement. This helps us to see the intersections between specific goals and how they advance economic prosperity; health & well-being; resiliency; impact beyond campus borders (i.e. local, national, and global impacts); and diversity, equity, and belonging.
 

In 2020 we reviewed goals to assess their initial intention, establishing that as our baseline. Beginning in 2021, we will assess each goal on whether or not co-benefits resulted from that year’s work, and to what degree. Significantly, the impacts of the pandemic prevented our ability to make progress on some co-benefits in 2021.

At the time of the 2020 assessment, 31 active goals from the Yale Sustainability Plan were assessed. Similarly, the 2021 assessment only features active goals that have not yet been achieved.

This interactive tool shows whether the goal has a major, moderate, or neutral co-benefit impact. The first tab shows the actual co-benefits that each active goal has produced, and the second tab shows their intended co-benefits. Users may toggle between the two for comparison. Check the box next to different levels of impact within each co-benefit category to learn more.