Climate Change and Business Internships (voluntary)

CDP is looking to recruit 3 interns to assist with our engagement and events work in Australia, NZ & SE Asia. These are unpaid roles but have great CV value.

CDP motivates companies and cities to disclose their environmental impacts, giving decision makers the data they need to change market behaviour.

Over 5,600 companies disclosed climate change information through CDP in 2015, including over 80% of the 50 largest listed companies on the ASX. Over 500 cities also disclosed through CDP in 2016, including: City of Adelaide, Byron Shire, Cairns Regional Council, Canberra, City of Melbourne, City of Perth and City of Sydney.

This post will be valuable experience for anyone seeking a career in climate change or sustainability, and is an opportunity to gain insight and skills in a broad range of areas beneficial for careers in communications, consultancy, government, finance and in-house corporate sustainability roles.

These are unpaid internships for 3-4 days per week, although lunch and travel expenses will be reimbursed. The successful candidates will be based in our Sydney CBD office until the end of January (two roles) / mid-December (one role) , starting ASAP. Applicants must already have the right to live and work in Australia. As a small charity, CDP is unfortunately unable to sponsor or otherwise support overseas applicants who do not have the right to live and work in Australia.

Previous CDP interns that have gone through this program in Sydney are now in climate, ESG and energy-related roles in the business, government, academia and investment communities.

The interns will be involved in a variety of work including:

• Supporting our engagement work with large, listed companies and institutional investors in Australia, NZ and SE Asia on CDP's climate change and water programs
• Supporting our engagement of institutional investors that are current and potential signatories to CDP's programs on climate change, water and forests
• Supporting our engagement with companies in the Asia-Pacific region on the eight innovative and practical climate change initiatives in the Commit to Action program:
• Adopt a science-based emissions reduction target
• Procure 100% of electricity from renewable sources
• Remove commodity-driven deforestation from all supply chains by 2020
• Report climate change information in mainstream reports as a fiduciary duty
• Responsible corporate engagement in climate policy
• Put a price on carbon
• Commit to improve energy productivity
• Reduce short-lived climate pollutant emissions
• Supporting the organisation of workshops, webinars and other events
• Responding to enquiries from companies and investors related to the CDP information requests on climate change, water and forests
• Database management
• Online research
• Assisting with analysis of responses to CDP's climate change, water and forests programs

Selection Criteria

• University degree and/or two years work experience in business, communication, finance, sustainability and/or climate change
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Confident and capable of engaging with stakeholders at all levels
• Strong organisational skills and excellent attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to pick up new skills quickly
• Well-developed online research and analytical skills
• Strong IT skills, including database management skills, fluency in MS Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint and the ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Demonstrated strong self-motivation and ability to work well with other people
• The right to live and work in Australia
• Knowledge of greenhouse gas accounting, and the business implications of climate change (desirable)

About CDP

CDP motivates companies and cities to disclose their environmental impacts, giving decision makers the data they need to change market behaviour. For more information about CDP, please visit www.cdp.net

Interested candidates should send a copy of their CV with a cover letter that addresses the selection criteria and outlines their suitability for the role to James Day, Director - Australia and New Zealand at australianz@cdp.net, using the subject line: Internship - Sydney application via Environment Jobs.

Only applications which address all of the selection criteria will be considered.

Applications close 21 August 2016. Suitable candidates will be interviewed in August 2016.