As the school year comes to a close, Yale has adopted a few new objectives to make the University more environmentally responsible.

Environment Professor Thomas Graedel, chair of the Advisory Committee for Environmental Management (ACEM) and Bruce Carmichael, Assistant Provost for Science & Technology announced last Wednesday that Yale would adopt seven of the environmental targets and time-scales recommended by the ACEM.

The environmental goals include increasing the purchase of recycled office supplies, adding hybrid vehicles to the Yale fleet, reducing the generation of chemical, solid and radioactive waste, increasing Yale’s rate of recycling, and conducting sustainability analyses for relevant construction and renovation projects on campus.

University Provost Susan Hockfield accepted the targets in consultation with University President Richard Levin and members of the Yale Corporation.

“The provost had asked the ACEM to give the quantitative benefits, targets, and time-scales for areas such as energy, the reduction of solid waste, recycling rate, water use, and other measurable policies,” Carmichael said.

He explained that the University accepted the targets because they were thought out and consistent with the University’s environmental principles, adding that while the goals were “logical,” they were also “reasonable challenges.”

Carmichael explained that each goal has a specific timeline. Some of the goals are expected to reach completion in one year; although some may take more time, but no objective has a timeline that exceeds three years. Carmichael added that for goals which are more than a year away, the ACEM expects some progress to be achieved each year.

Of the goals the ACEM recommended to the Provost, only one was not accepted. This target was intended to reduce energy consumption and Carmichael said the ACEM will come forward later this year with a revised goal reflecting greater knowledge of energy consumption patterns at Yale.

The ACEM is a committee composed of students, faculty and staff members that advises the University on environmental issues. The ACEM was established by the Provost’s Office in the fall of 2001, and Graedel, who was instrumental in forming the committee, said its original charge was to develop environmental principles for the University.

Graedel and Carmichael announced the adoption of these new objectives at the Green Ivy Awards Wednesday evening at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The event was meant to highlight the work environmental groups have done on campus. It also presented the ‘Green Ivy Award’ to University Recycling Coordinator Cyril J. May for making a significant contribution to “greening” Yale.