YUP Green Team August 2012 Tip: Summer Reading

Yale University Press incorporated a sustainability initiative in its 2008 strategic plan, and in May of that year, a green committee was formed. Since then, the green committee has done a substantial amount of work to promote sustainable behaviors through education, outreach, and community engagement. The committee’s first coup was to have water filtration systems installed in place of the plastic Crystal Rock water bottles that resided in the three Press kitchens.

The committee sends out monthly green tips, promoting various sustainable endeavors that are unique to the Press (such as our ink and toner cartridge, compostable cup, and Terracycle collections), as well as more general facts about how to have a greener workplace. The committee maintains a bulletin board, posting about sustainability-related news and local events. Starting in 2010, the committee began hosting an annual book swap during Yale’s Sustainability Week. In December 2010, the Press became the first department to roll out the University’s single-stream recycling pilot program. The committee hosts Meatless Monday events as a way to foster community building and boost morale.

Yale University Press was green certified at the E level in January 2012 through the Yale Office of Sustainability’s Green Workplace Certification program, and the monthly tips will continue to appear here on the Yale Press Log!