Aimed at consolidating, developing, and implementing sustainability-related initiatives at all levels of the Franklin community, the FUS Green Office (GO) is Franklin's center for sustainability competency and operates within five different branches: campus operations; event coordination; education and research; external affairs and projects; and marketing and communications.
Since its inception in August 2022, the GO Sustainability Programs has expanded significantly, launching decarbonization efforts, sustainability reporting protocols, waste reduction initiatives, sustainability events, and curriculum development at Franklin. They have worked to advance and integrate diversity, equity and inclusion in their mission, centering environmental and social justice in all of their efforts. They have also launched a monthly newsletter to keep the Franklin community up to date on their work and communicate ways to get involved.
In an interview, Jordan King, GO Scholar for Marketing and Communications, shared that one of the most successful new student-led initiatives this year has been the Swap Shop, a program that allows students to bring used but still quality items to the Leonardo da Vinci residence hall and exchange them for other items. This initiative reduces consumption, diverts waste and creates a circular economy on campus.
In addition to the new programs launched this year, the GO has continued to work on ongoing initiatives that launched in 2022, such as coordinating additional locations for bicycle and e-bike parking near campus, keeping a progress report for measuring sustainability on campus, developing the academic travel carbon trading program, coordinating clean-up sessions around Sorengo, and planning for the annual Earth Day Summit.
The work of the GO is fueled by the student leaders in the GO Scholar Program and volunteers. The GO continually works to build up increased sustainability awareness and action over time by learning from past research and applications. One way that Grace Meller, GO Scholar for Education and Research, contributes to the office's efforts is by working on the GO grant program that started in the Fall 2023 semester (FUS GO Grants: Orienting Curriculum around Sustainability). The grant program supports faculty who are working to expand their teaching and research around sustainability.
The GO Scholars are also busy working on planning Earth Day Summit 2024. The event is scheduled for April 19-20, 2024 and will focus on the theme of community. A mix of activities and panels will be offered, as well as an emphasis on sustainable food options, keeping in mind where our food comes from and how we can be more mindful of our carbon footprint, even at the most basic level.
The work of the GO Scholars is led by Jean Wu, Director of Green Office Sustainability Programs. Ms. Wu advocates for sustainability in higher education, both on and off campus. Most recently, Ms. Wu was invited to speak last October in Amsterdam at the annual European EDUTech Conference on the theme of 'Sustainable Campuses: Universities Leading by Example in Green Practices'. In addition, Ms. Wu represented Franklin at a sustainability event sponsored by the City of Lugano entitled “Responsabilità Sociale delle imprese e mercato del lavoro” (Corporate Social Responsibility and the Labor Market), where she participated in a roundtable discussion of "The Role of Higher Education in Training Sustainability Professionals." In addition to Ms. Wu, the roundtable featured faculty from USI and SUPSI, as well as students from SUPSI and Franklin. The student representing Franklin was GO Scholar for Event Coordination, Skylar Tempel, who spoke about why environmental science was so important to them and also ways to integrate sustainability in a realistic but meaningful way in our current routines.
We look forward to hearing more about the GO’s progress and achievements in 2024 as they work to develop and implement Franklin's many sustainability programs.