Note: If your campus is closed due to coronavirus concerns, we can explore ways to do this internship ‘remotely’.
For those who don’t ‘get’ the critical need to put an end to unsustainable practices, seeing that sustainable practices not only help ensure a livable future, but can also produce a high return on investment [ROI], and this can help motivate change. (And, as more and more cities develop climate action plans, the push is on for businesses to do their part.)
What follows is a general description, but this internship can be framed to focus on specific areas. Here are a couple of examples:
- Marketing – Developing ways to market sustainable practices instead of those that harm people’s health and contribute to global warming and the climate crises
- Operations & Supply Chain – Working with a local business to identify practices that present sustainability challenges — and helping to develop solutions
- GHG Emissions – Identifying ways to reduce energy use, thus reducing costs and GHG emissions at the same time, including developing benchmarks and methods for tracking progress
- Let’s hear your ideas!
General description:
We’ll work with one or more interested local businesses to assess impacts and explore ways to be more sustainable, with a special emphasis on reducing GHG emissions. (To the extent possible, we’ll look for a local partner that has the potential to influence others.) In summer 2019, we will be working with selected independent cafés, restaurants, & brewpubs, and fall interns may be asked to continue or expand on that work. Interns will be involved in some or all of the following activities:
- Research effective sustainability practices in use elsewhere;
- Analyze existing operations and possibilities to identify barriers and develop practical ways to become more sustainable;;
- Develop and implement specific plans in accord with business needs and the need to be sustainable.
(Also see our Socialized Costs for Private Profits internship.)
[Updated May 2020]