The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is a non-profit organization helping to develop policy solutions to reduce conventional pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.  We are currently offering an internship opportunity located in our Washington, DC or San Francisco offices to support our Marine program.  The intern will help marine program staff develop a dataset of corporate social responsibility initiatives undertaken by major shippers and carriers.

Position Description

Among marine vessels, container ships are the largest fuel consumer and emit more PM/black carbon (BC) than any other ship type. Container ships are the fastest growing segment of the marine industry with projections of fuel use to increase to 40% by 2030 from 26% today. Better understanding the motivations and potential influence of major global corporations (shippers) that rely heavily on the container ship industry (carriers) to transport products around the world would potentially result in emissions reduction in the containership sector. This internship will help develop a robust dataset that the Marine program can use to identify shippers large enough to influence cargo carriers, to understand the effectiveness of current initiatives that partner shippers with carriers to reduce shipping emissions, and to evaluate CO₂ and PM/BC emission savings from the shipping sector.

The main task of the intern is to build a spreadsheet-based database of top shipping companies including information on commercial sector, size, value, weight and volume of good shipped, carriers and trade routes employed, corporate sustainability pledges, related activities, and other relevant data. The intern will evaluate the magnitude and effectiveness of their sustainability actions by cross-referencing with BRS watchdog groups. Time willing, the intern will also help analyze technologies to reduce BC emissions from international shipping as a whole, and summarize and communicate findings to internal and external audiences.

Deliverables

A dataset, in Excel format, containing information on the relationship between shippers and carriers described above. 

Qualifications

• Excellent proficiency in English
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills
• Experience with MS Excel, Powerpoint and other office applications required
• Experience with analyzing medium to large databases is desirable
• A good working understanding of marine engineering and air emissions is desirable

Timeline

The intern is expected to start in January 2015 and work full time for 24~26 weeks. The internship will be paid, with salary commensurate with experience. The intern will work in either downtown Washington, DC or San Francisco, California.

Application

Please send your resume, a cover letter summarizing your qualifications and experiences, a short writing or project sample, and the name and contact information of three references (letters not necessary) to internships@theicct.org with the subject line "Marine Program Internship 2015." The ICCT is an equal opportunity employer.