As president of GrUSP since 2005, Francesco focuses on building partnerships, overseeing strategic initiatives, and identifying new areas for development. In recent years, he has led efforts to launch several projects related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as the Diversity and Inclusion Fund and scholarship programs.
Can you tell us about GrUSP?
GrUSP (Gruppo Utenti e Sviluppatori PHP) was founded in 2003 as a community focused on PHP. It has since evolved into a non-profit organization that promotes best practices in web development across a wide range of technologies. Today, GrUSP is the main point of reference in Italy for developers and professionals interested in improving the quality, accessibility, inclusiveness, and sustainability of the web.
We organize numerous conferences and community events—including those dedicated to front-end development, DevOps, accessibility, and sustainability—to foster knowledge sharing, networking, and professional growth within the Italian and international tech community.
How does environmental sustainability fit into your organization?
The internet is responsible for approximately 2–4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and a significant share of this impact comes from the software and services running on the web. At GrUSP, we believe that developers and digital professionals have a critical role to play in making this footprint smaller.
By helping to create, define, and promote best practices in web development, we aim to improve technical skills and professional standards while ensuring that sustainability becomes a core principle of the digital ecosystem. We believe that educating and raising awareness about sustainable software practices today is relevant and urgent. It’s an extension of our broader mission to make the web a better, fairer, and more responsible space for everyone.
Why did GrUSP join the GSF?
We first joined the Linux Foundation because we’ve always strongly supported open source values and communities, which have been at the core of GrUSP’s mission since the beginning. Joining the Green Software Foundation was a natural next step, as we are now looking to engage more deeply and systematically with the world of Green IT.
We believe that being part of the GSF allows us to learn from global leaders in sustainable software and actively contribute by sharing our experience, amplifying best practices within our community, and fostering initiatives that bring environmental responsibility to the forefront of web development in Italy and beyond.
Are there any other sustainability initiatives that you can share?
A lot of our sustainability work so far has focused on the social dimension. We’ve launched a scholarship program to support students and individuals who have lost their jobs, ensuring that access to knowledge and professional development remains inclusive. We’ve also developed a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiative to address systemic imbalances in the tech world.
In particular, we’ve run free public speaking courses aimed at supporting women and underrepresented individuals who want to become conference speakers. Through the initiative, we aim to improve gender balance and representation in the tech events ecosystem. We’ve also provided mentorship to emerging speakers in tech to help them reach national and international stages.
On the environmental side, some of our community members are actively contributing to the development of the W3C’s Sustainable Web Design guidelines, helping to define standards that will shape a greener digital future.
How do you hope to contribute to and benefit from the GSF?
We’re particularly interested in supporting the GSF’s outreach to developers, especially through initiatives related to advocacy, education, and community engagement. With our long-standing experience in organizing developer-focused events and conferences, we believe we can help amplify GSF’s message in Italy and build stronger connections with the local tech ecosystem.
One concrete way we hope to contribute is by translating key GSF materials — such as documents and courses — into Italian, making them accessible to a broader audience. We’re also open to organizing and hosting Italian-language GSF meetups, a community that Francesco is already actively following.
In addition, we’re organizing Better Software, an Italian conference that takes a holistic view of Sustainable IT, including environmental, social, organizational, and economic aspects. Green software is a key theme of the event, and we would love to involve the GSF in this initiative to help inspire and educate even more professionals in our region.
Through all of this, we hope to learn from other GSF members, collaborate on meaningful projects, and integrate cutting-edge sustainability practices into our events, community activities, and educational efforts.
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