Georgetown: Restoring Promise and Pride through Sustainability

The following is a guest post from Jonathan Cohn, the co-president of the EcoAction club at Georgetown University.

When venturing into sustainability initiatives, one needs to consider how best to connect to the public. With all of the chaos that exists in day-to-day life, some things inevitably fall to the backs of our minds, but with the energy and climate crisis looming, our fate and that of posterity are not to be ignored.  

Many companies, governments, NGOs, and nonprofits here and across the globe have worked to get the public "energized" about energy reform. Logos, videos, and stunts can be found all over, but nothing can beat the power of words. That is how I have viewed environmental advocacy from my own experience on Georgetown’s campus.  

Last year, we began a branding campaign for sustainability at Georgetown. We took two slogans that are synonymous with Georgetown school spirit ("Bleed (Hoya) Blue" and "Wear Green" [ETA: correction — our slogan is "Wear Gray"] —the two colorful catchphrases that dominate the basketball season) and added the essential third component: "Live Green." Connecting sustainability with campus pride is a vital first step into reaching out to the student body; for people to care about something (especially when it may not always be immediately visible to them), they must feel as though they are part of something greater.

We’ve used this line—with the logo that goes with it—to adorn recycling trucks, the recycling garage, Nalgene reusable water bottles, and many other campus-wide marketing materials. Connecting campus pride with the goals of sustainability keeps these goals closer to the front of people’s minds. In the heart of our nation’s capital, the lessons from our campus can shed some valuable light on the path to sustainability: when patriotism and prosperity are linked with sustainability (as they properly should), we will have our greater energy future.

— Jonathan Cohn

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