As students are drawn outside to enjoy the green aspects of the Elm City, the University’s administration showed their appreciation for those leading drive towards sustainability on campus.

The Second Annual Green Ivy Awards luncheon in the President’s Room of Woolsey Hall was held yesterday afternoon, recognizing the work and coordinating efforts of faculty, staff and students addressing sustainability issues at Yale. Assistant Provost Bruce Carmichael presented Robert Dincecco, associate director of planning, construction and renovation facilities, and Maren Haus FES ’06, the director of the Student Taskforce for Environmental Partnership, with the awards.

“The Green Ivy Award is to honor staff members and significant students,” Carmichael said. “It was a very difficult decision.”

Before the awards were given, Elan Gangsma, who administers the Green Fund, summarized each of the 13 different funded projects. He ended his presentation noting that the United States represents 2 percent of the world population while using 37 percent of the world’s resources — a “clearly unsustainable” trend.

The Green Fund is a $1 million fund established in 2001 to provide financial resources for students, staff, faculty and the University community to improve Yale’s environmental management and performance. Unlike a similar program at Harvard, the fund does not require repayment.

Also in 2001, the provost formed an official committee to promote environment sustainability at Yale. The Advisory Committee on Environmental Management is a formal standing advisory committee, currently chaired by Industrial Ecology professor Thomas Graedel.

C.J. May, the head of Yale Recycling, said the Green Fund has enabled individuals to undertake projects that were infeasible when he first came to the University in 1990. He said the award ceremony and administration’s support for faculty, staff and student efforts showed promise for future progress on environmental issues.

“People with energy concerns would come to me, which I found frustrating,” May said.

The Green Ivy Awards ushered in Earth Week, a five-day series of events promoting sustainablility on campus beginning Tuesday.

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