The UNH Fair Trade Campaign came about in the fall of 2019 when Net Impact was seeking a new project to take on within our structure of being a sustainability organization seeking to enact systemic change on campus rooted in considerations for people, 地球, 和利润. 我们进行了头脑风暴 菲奥娜(Fiona)，她是通过自己的人际网络接触到这个问题的. Fair Trade Campaigns are overseen by an established organization that targets towns, 大学, 大学, 和教会, so it was an opportunity being shared throughout the higher education space. Being run by an overarching organization and made it easy to get on board with this endeavor through the clearly outlined structure for requirements. 在这个, 活动需要四项外展活动, 三个办事处或活动承诺使用公平贸易产品, 每间餐厅提供两款公平贸易产品, 以及由联合国行政当局通过的公平贸易决议. 整体, 这个过程包含了可持续性的所有方面(人), 地球, 利润)通过供应链参与和透明度, 净影响在其他项目中也关注哪些领域, 所以它似乎很适合我们的下一个重点领域.
另外, this campaign allowed for the cumulation of many personal and professional skills throughout our collaboration with multiple UNH departments. The experience itself solidified concrete capabilities for members to bring forward in their careers regarding small team projects and project management. 就我个人而言, I feel that leading the Fair Trade Campaign has bolstered my skills in professional communication, 时间管理, 会议便利化, 小组领导, 任务代表团, 数据输入和跟踪, 公众外展及参与, 利益相关者参与. 有了这些, I have enjoyed leveraging these toward a cause that I care about while also growing personally as a leader. 通过这个出口, it has been so rewarding to know that we have been completing impactful work and are able to enact real systemic change on campus. 这与UNH校园内的学生代理有关, and the drive and thoughtfulness between so many stakeholders toward pursuing an overarching goal that is a big part of the culture of sustainability we continue to build upon.
在我们与可持续发展研究所的合作中, 接待服务, 餐饮服务, 和餐饮, I was so impressed by how collaborative and engaged each of the departments was. 在这个, the 可持续发展研究所 was integral to leveraging existing connections between these departments, 并帮助简化了工作, as much of the food data and tracking was already occurring to due STARS rating requirements. 因此, 而不是重塑某些努力, we were able to synthesize new subsets of data and build upon the specific area of Fair Trade products that we were interested in to clarify the necessary information and move forward with campaign details as students. This collaboration further demonstrates the opportunities for student organizations to collaborate with departments across campus, 以及它能承载多少能量, as students can offer different capacity to the ongoing efforts from the departments while also learning from the departmental operations.
This departmental work can also serve to benefit the University as a whole. Because the campus-wide Fair Trade certification serves as 1 out of 74 credits and 1 out of 201 points that UNH is pursuing for our STARS rating renewal, the Fair Trade Campaign has merit in multiple forms: intrinsically for the sustainable impact, 以及信用和认可. 事实上，这两年的努力只是STARS的一个点, 所有其他的点都和这个努力一样, UNH’s achievement of maintaining Platinum status under this rating system is one reason why I’m very proud to be at UNH as a student in general, 我也很自豪能参与到这里的可持续发展领域. Platinum status is a very large accomplishment in my eyes and speaks to the rigor and far-reaching impact of each pursuit while also underscoring UNH’s overall commitment to sustainability. 这类工作很复杂, 详细的, 和协作, 并且需要许多不同的人的帮助和他们的观点, 哪个更能加强我们的社区.
This is also notable to me due to the power UNH holds to make a large impact in our larger community due to the sheer size of our campus operations and the quantitative improvements that we can account for. Implementing these types of programs at the scale we are can hopefully serve as an example for others to follow and empower other institutions to take on similar efforts. 可持续性 has become a defining characteristic of the identity of the university as a whole and is something that should be continued to be celebrated through accomplishments such as Fair Trade Certification.
For those looking to continue sustainability efforts through outreach and education of sustainability topics, 哪一个是这次竞选的重要组成部分, I also wanted to address my learnings about effective engagement at UNH and extend my advice to upcoming future leaders for some methods to reach the UNH student body. Many formats of outreach have changed significantly throughout COVID as many students have come saturated with virtual opportunities and messaging. 以这种方式, 即使秋天可能会回到现场操作, 我建议你想办法保持创造力, and reaching out to students in a way that is as interesting and new as possible, 通过消息传递和交互式事件, 特别是如果它们是虚拟的. I think it is also important to provide opportunities to underclassmen early, as much of the downfalls from attempting to reach people is from a lack of awareness or knowledge about how much is truly happening around campus. 事件 such as U-Day and other opportunities early in the semester are integral to gaining traction, 因为很多学生都在积极地寻找机会. 和, 最后, it’s also important to make sure you are reaching your target audiences of who might be most receptive! Maintaining open communication with your networks and making your work known to those you already have relationships with is a good avenue not only to reach more people but also to identify areas for collaboration, 因为许多其他可持续发展组织可能也在追求类似的目标.
