Terms of Empowerment:
How to inspire enthusiasm and
decentralize accountability
Melissa Goodall
Yale Office of Sustainability
October 2014
For online viewing only.
Please do not download or distribute without contacting Sustainability@yale.edu.
(there are no wrong answers)
QUIZ!!
1. If you were a kid, which would you most want
to be when you grew up?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
An astronaut or pilot
A veterinarian or nature guide
A teacher or social worker
A banker or lawyer
A farmer or yoga instructor
2. Which would make the best date?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
A ride in a hot air balloon
A long walk on the beach
A cup of fair trade coffee and a documentary film
Doesn’t matter as long as they pay
A night in to cook together
3. You have just two days to see a new city.
You can’t leave without:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Seeing as much as you can on the move – a segue tour, perhaps?
Exploring the parks, trails, waterfront, or zoo
Learning as much as possible about local history and culture
Shopping
Sampling the local cuisine
4. What are you most likely to have on your
fridge?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
A bike map
Nature photos
Pictures and quotes from inspirational leaders
Grocery store and restaurant coupons
Recipes to try and a list of “super foods”
6. You are receiving a gift. Which would you
prefer:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Travel guide
Picnic basket
Donation to an NGO
Gift certificate or cash
Yoga studio pass
Answer Key
A
Transportation
– you like to
get around in
creative ways.
B
Nature - You love
nature and being
outdoors.
C
Equity – you care
that people are
treated fairly.
D
Bottom line – you
value logic and
the financial
rationale.
E
Well-being – you
prioritize health
and food.
Moving beyond operations
YALE SUSTAINABILITY
STRATEGIC PLAN
Sustainability Strategic Plan 2010–2013
Creating a sustainable campus to educate
the leaders of tomorrow requires the
flexibility to practice new behaviors, enable
innovative strategies, embrace promising
new technologies, and continuously seek
new solutions over time. Success depends
on the active contribution of every member
of the Yale community.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE YALE UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY
TASK FORCE, SEPTEMBER 2010
Sustainability Strategic Plan 2013 – 2016
At Yale, we believe that sustainability depends
on the entire university community: faculty who
conduct leading research and teach the next
generation; staff who manage and carry out the
operations of our complex organization; and
students who inspire and challenge us to even
more innovation. We have a responsibility to
future generations to ensure that sustainable
practices are at the heart of our university.
YALE SUSTAINABILITY STEERING COMMITTEE, JULY 2013
Meta-categories
Energy & GHG Emissions
Food & Well-being
Natural & Built
Environment
Materials Management
Sustainability Leadership
& Capacity Building
Operations /
Systemic Change
Communications/
Behavior change
About 2/3 of our GHG and energy goals belongs to facilities
The other 1/3 is behavior
About 2/3 of the paper goal is systems-based
Behavior = about 1/3
WHO ARE WE
EMPOWERING?
Yale is a Community
Yale is many communities….
Audiences
Staff
Management
&
Professional
Clerical &
Technical
Service &
Maintenance
Faculty
Students
Labs
Undergrad
Non-labs
Grad
Yale Demographics
27,258 people
undergraduate students
(10% international),
5,379
staff members , 9,323
graduate students
(33% international),
2,823
faculty members ,
4,140
professional students
(18% international),
3,678
postdoctoral
trainees ,
1,915
ELEMENTS OF
EMPOWERMENT
Communications:
draw awareness
Outreach:
educate about impacts
to inspire informed choices
Empowerment:
Inspire and garner involvement and responsibility
How are we empowering them?
TOOLS AND TACTICS
Communications
Social Media
Websites
News articles
Videos
Fact Sheets & Posters
Community Activities
Campaigns
Presentations
Outreach:
Training
Certifications
Department-level sustainability strategies
Empowerment
Engagement
DEPARTMENT PLANNING
Yale’s 12 Professional Schools
Architecture
Art
Divinity
Drama
Engineering and
Applied Science
Forestry &
Environmental Studie
Law
Management
Medicine
Music
Nursing
Public Health
Looking out: how these
disciplines relate to
global sustainability
Looking in: the greening
of the campus
School of
Architecture
Divinity School
School of Forestry &
Environmental Studies
Law School
School of Medicine
School of Nursing
School of Management
CHANNELS AND BARRIERS
Decision-making
What decisions are being made?
Who makes decisions?
Who and what do those decisions impact?
Entry points
Top-down
From the middle
Bottom-up
What are the barriers?
•
•
•
•
Perceptions and priorities
How the campus is being used
Knowledge and incentives
Availability of resources
How do we transform those barriers?
•
•
•
•
Inform.
Rationalize.
Make it the easy and right thing to do.
Let them know what’s in it for them…
Terms of Empowerment:
How to inspire enthusiasm and
decentralize accountability
Melissa Goodall
Yale Office of Sustainability
October 2014
For online viewing only.
Please do not download or distribute without contacting Sustainability@yale.edu.