Meet Luca Franceschini

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Luca Franceschini: I come from a small town in the north of Italy near Varese, close to the Swiss border, where I lived until I received my bachelor’s in engineering and environmental safety. Afterward, I moved to Scandinavia, where I did my master’s in environmental engineering in a double degree program between Denmark Technical University in Copenhagen and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. I’ve been working at Quantis as a sustainability consultant for two years now and in the sustainability field for a little more than four years. What I do varies a lot depending on the project I’m working on, but generally, I  do analyses, action plans, carbon footprinting, as well as some other things.

Did you always plan to work in sustainability?

LF: At the beginning of my career, I was interested in working on conventional environmental engineering topics, such as wastewater treatment or contaminated site remediation. I started to become interested in sustainability while doing my Master of Science in Scandinavia. The topic is pretty big there and they were trying to integrate a bit of it into every course. As I started to understand the topic better, I decided to include a sustainability assessment of remediation techniques in my thesis. I got really passionate about sustainability while working on it, so I decided to find a job in this field.

What’s been your most exciting project to date?

LF: I can’t pinpoint just one project, but I can say that, overall, it’s exciting to work on projects focused on things that I use every day. I can see how they work and what effects they have on people and the environment. 

It also helps me be more informed on which sustainable behaviors I should adopt. For example, working on a lot of fashion projects, you really start to understand why you should avoid fast fashion and buying new clothes every year. Lately, I’ve been working on some packaging projects and now, when I buy something, I look at the packaging more closely to see whether there’s too much of it, what kind of material it’s made of and what kind of certifications it has. I use it as a way to decide whether to buy or not buy something.

Since joining Quantis, what have you learned about yourself?

LF: One thing I’ve noticed is that by working with people who share the same passion for sustainability as me, I challenge myself to do even more to incorporate sustainability into my life. If you took an average group of people from my everyday life, I’d probably be the most environmentally conscious person in the group. But if you took a random group of people from Quantis, it’s very likely that there would be people with a much stronger approach to sustainability in their personal lives than me. It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone and think you’re already doing enough. It’s nice to be surrounded by like-minded people who challenge me to do my best.

How would you describe the Quantis Spirit?

LF: It’s difficult to describe — it’s something you have to live. The Quantis Spirit is what happens when you put a couple hundred sustainability experts together who see what they do as more than a job. We work together as a unit to shift business and society towards a more sustainable model. At Quantis you’ll find people who do this because they believe in what they’re doing — not just to make a living. It’s their passion. They want to see the company succeed because they know that if it does, then we’re helping shape a better world. 

If you go out with your colleagues after work, you often end up talking about sustainability, even if it’s not related to clients or your daily work. People are so passionate about this topic that they talk about it all the time.

How do you like to spend your time outside the office?

LF: I’m still passionate about sustainability, but apart from that, I’m passionate about nature and mountains and sports. I live close to the Alps, so I like to go hiking all year round and snowboarding in the winter. I enjoy weightlifting too. 

I’m also quite interested in science-based approaches to everyday life: I like to keep a scientific approach also to my passions, whether reading books about biomechanics or nutrition in order to improve in certain areas of my training or understanding certain concepts of human biology to implement behavioral hacks.

Any parting words?

LF: One thing I always tell new colleagues when they start is that they’re lucky to be at Quantis. If you’re passionate about sustainability, I think Quantis is one of the best companies to work at because of the high quality of our work and also the quality of our people. There’s so much expertise across our offices and a lot of cross-branch collaboration — if you contact a colleague from another office, you’ll get the same willingness to help that you would receive from the colleague you’re sharing a desk with.