Ceres/Boston, MA
Organization
Ceres is a national coalition of investors, environmentalists, labor unions and public interest groups, dedicated to increasing corporate sustainability and responsibility. Our mission is to move businesses, capital, and markets to advance lasting prosperity by valuing the health of the planet and its people.
Ceres plays a unique role in the national sustainability movement by bringing the perspective and power of investors to environmental issues and specifically to the practices of corporations and the regulation of financial markets. Today Ceres is a growing organization with expanding influence in the investment, environmental, and public policy arenas. Our program activities seek to foster greater public disclosure of environmental and social impacts by corporations, encourage engagement between companies and their stakeholders, and create opportunities for collaborative dialogue leading to positive change on key sustainability issues. For more information about Ceres, please visit our web site (www.ceres.org).
We are seeking dynamic, committed interns who would find it exciting to join the Ceres team!
Internship Description
Ceres' interns support Program, Communications, and Development staff working with a wide variety of constituents within the Ceres network: environmental activists, investors, funders, and corporations. While providing some administrative support, interns will primarily work in one of the following areas using skills in research, project coordination, IT and communications. Detailed descriptions of each available position can be found below.
Each February, Ceres advertises for our summer program. During March we conduct interviews and make placements. Our Summer Intern Program is held during the months of June and July, and runs for an 8-week period. The work hours are Monday through Friday, from 9am to 5pm. We pay a stipend of $3300 for the eight weeks and provide a pass on the MBTA systems for June and July. We typically hire 8-10 interns, who are a mix of undergraduate and graduate students.
Below you will find a more detailed description of each program team that is seeking a summer intern. Please read details of each position and clearly specify which you are applying for when submitting your materials.
Corporate Program Intern
The Corporate Program works with the 60+ members of the Ceres Company Network to help them develop sustainable business strategies that address key challenges like climate change. Ceres focuses its engagement around four areas, which are laid out in The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability: corporate governance, stakeholder engagement, disclosure, and sustainability performance, which includes topics such as supply chains, operations and products. The intern will support our corporate engagement work through:
• Researching and analyzing the sustainability performance of a company and/or sector against the expectations laid forth in The Ceres Roadmap, using publicly available disclosure (primarily corporate sustainability reports)
• Providing research support for ad hoc projects on key topics such as executive compensation, sustainable supply chains, and stakeholder engagement
• Researching, compiling and presenting industry trends
We are looking for candidates with solid research skills, an ability to work independently, and some familiarity with how environmental and social sustainability issues apply to businesses. Graduate students preferred, but all will be considered.
Development Intern
The Development Intern will work closely with a number of staff in the ongoing work of Ceres' development office. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly organized and motivated individual to gain hands-on experience and specific training in many aspects of nonprofit development including prospect research, database, online communications and special events. Projects will include researching foundation and individual supporters, managing the organization's donor databases, writing and proofing, online communications analytics, Ceres profile development, peer benchmarking, research and more. The majority of time will be spent on annual fund and major donor efforts, with smaller projects focused on corporate and foundation efforts. Strong organizational skills and ability to work independently will be important, as well as excellent research skills. Database experience is not required, but highly desired.
Electric Power Intern
The Electric Power Program at Ceres seeks to work with electric utilities in adopting modern 21st century sustainable practices and technologies, which will result in a future of more renewable electric generation and less carbon based electric generation. The Electric Power Program is seeking an intern for the Summer 2014 period to assist the Program in the development of the 2nd annual publication of our Utility Clean Energy Benchmarking Report. The Report seeks to benchmark the 25 largest electric utility holding companies in the US. The benchmarking will assist utilities, shareholders, regulators and customers in understanding the utilization of clean energy by the largest electric utilities in the U.S. and assisting the utilities in making wise and sustainable choices for their energy future. We are seeking an undergraduate or graduate student with interest in the area of energy and who has excellent research, writing, Excel and database skills.
Insurance Intern
The Insurance Program at Ceres works specifically with a number of insurance companies within the broader context of climate and clean energy on issues such as risk management in the face of climate change, city climate adaptation and resiliency efforts, and sustainable investment strategies.
For the summer of 2014, the Insurance Program is looking for an intern to provide support in the following areas:
• Research on the extent to which certain insurance companies, brokers and risk modelers have been engaged in climate action planning, and incorporates climate change risks and opportunities into their organizations' core business planning and operations
• Preparing materials for engagement meetings, media events and presentations
• Developing graphs and charts from quantitative data to be used in reports
• Assisting in organizing and conducting webinars
Applicants should be comfortable with qualitative and quantitative research, and be very familiar with Microsoft Office Suite. Graduate students preferred, but all will be considered.
Transportation, Oil & Gas Intern
This intern will work with both the Transportation and the Oil & Gas Program at Ceres.
A clean and efficient transportation system is critical to a strong economy; its benefits include saving consumers and businesses money as well as reducing our dependence on oil. Transportation is a significant contributor to carbon emissions; it accounts for 28% of US GHG emissions (more emissions than any other nation's entire economy with the exception of China), and its emissions are growing faster than any other sector. In order to adequately reduce emissions associated with the sector, we need to focus on three components: vehicles, fuels and infrastructure. In the next year, Ceres Transportation Program's primary focus will be on promoting clean fuels and vehicles and relevant policies; projects will include advocating for Low Carbon Fuel Standards, analysis of the economic impacts of strong fuel economy standards, and promoting advanced technology vehicles. Interns will be asked to perform research on various transportation issues, draft educational materials and perform some administrative tasks. Link to Ceres' transportation project: http://www.ceres.org/...initiatives/transportation. Graduate students preferred, but all will be considered.
Water Program Intern
Ceres is working with companies, investors, water providers, policymakers, environmental organizations and other stakeholders to improve water management and increase reporting on water issues that pose risks to businesses, communities and the environment. We are seeking a graduate student intern to help us advance our work on water infrastructure, water risk disclosure, and corporate water management. Our current projects focus on the oil and gas, food and beverage, electric power and apparel industries, as well as water infrastructure and infrastructure financing. Graduate students preferred, but all will be considered.
How to Apply for a Summer Internship
• Review each program internship opportunity carefully and apply for the one you feel best fit
• Send a resume, cover letter, and two (2) brief writing samples to careers@ceres.org
• Please identify which program position you are applying for in the subject line of your email (i.e. Water Program- Summer Intern)
• Ceres is an equal opportunity employer and seeks qualified applicants without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation.
Address all correspondence to:
Ceres – Summer Intern
99 Chauncy St., 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02111
Email: careers@ceres.org
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