A Summer of Sustainability
I start my internship with Green Plus, a program of the Institute for Sustainable Development, on Wednesday. Green Plus supports “sustainability for everyone,” striving to help organizations become more environmentally-friendly in policy and in practice. More specifically, the organization strives to:
- Democratize triple bottom line sustainability by making it accessible to smaller employers and their communities
- Foster a new generation of sustainability leaders
- Develop a common understanding of sustainability principles across cultures
During my ten weeks at Green Plus, I’ll work on editing and redesigning the program’s “How To Guide,” a detailed online resource for Green Plus clients. I’ll also do some outreach, which includes calling clients and answering their questions.
I’m particularly excited about this job because it will let me to use my skills from Professional Communications, a course I took during my first semester with the MPA program. In fact, I used a report I wrote for Professional Communications as a writing sample for my Green Plus application. I believe it helped me land the job.
Before my first day at work, I wanted to get a better sense of Green Plus and its impact. Sarah Kate Fishback, the Director of Operations, sent me an impact assessment to help me get a better sense of how the organization works. The assessment used an 86-question survey of 123 clients, which looked at how Green Plus affects “people, planet, and performance.” According to the assessment:
- 87% [of clients] claim that they have better integrated sustainability into their organizations since joining Green Plus, and 90% report that Green Plus has altered their organizational course with regard to sustainability.
- Most (65%) client organizations have over 80% employee participation in sustainability efforts
- 52% of clients believe that Green Plus has helped them to generate new business, with 6 companies receiving direct referrals
Based on this assessment, it seems that Green Plus is achieving its mission. I’m excited to help this organization and its clients. I can’t wait to get started!
Next Monday- look for my post about my first week on the job!
