Proposal

FIT's sustainability project, "FIT Goes Green: Infusing Sustainability into our Culture," is a broad-based, multi-pronged approach to sustainability reflecting the college's unique mission in design and design-related business, technology, and liberal arts.

One core element is a new MA degree program in Sustainable Interior Environments focused on the principles of integrated sustainable design for human environments and their application through the design process. The second core element is the construction of green roofs on two academic buildings, the Shirley Goodman Resource Center, and the Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center.

Additional elements of FIT's commitment include the development of a sustainability curriculum database of best practices, two student design competitions, enhanced sustainability conferences, and a green promotional campaign to highlight and promote efforts to reduce energy consumption and waste on campus. FIT's overall sustainability initiatives will be coordinated by a new FIT sustainability council composed of all college constituencies.

This broad-based initiative supports FIT's commitment to sustainability as well as the Mayor's sustainability plan for New York City. Participating in CGI U and making a Commitment to Action is a logical progression in a series of green activities that have taken place at FIT over the last few years. It will further galvanize action around sustainability on campus, especially as it relates to students and the academic community at large.

Existing activities at FIT include: two sustainability conferences, with a third planned for spring 2009; an active sustainability listserv for faculty; some existing courses in green packaging design, lighting, ecology, and international corporate responsibility; several student design projects incorporating green perspectives, materials and/or fabrics; a series of activities to reduce energy consumption on campus; and supporting recycling through the installation of recycling bins and the use of recycled paper in FIT's print shop.

By placing all of these discrete initiatives, and new ones, under one umbrella and under the aegis of a newly-formed sustainability council, FIT will highlight and promote them, thus significantly enriching its sustainability agenda over the next three years.