Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP) is inviting applications for our competitive Climate Fellowship program. CA-CP is an action-oriented nonprofit that works with corporations, campuses, communities and science centers to find and promote solutions to global warming. We provide practical solutions that demonstrate the economic opportunities and environmental benefits of climate leadership. CA-CP’s Climate Fellowships pair outstanding students with challenging, important projects that will propel the US toward a low-carbon future. CA-CP Climate Fellows receive supervision and mentorship, unique networking opportunities, and a stipend.
The Project: “Foodprint” Analysis for Campus Dining Services
Clean Air-Cool Planet, whose Campus Carbon Calculator™ already offers more than 2000 colleges, universities and other organizations a standardized, user-friendly method for quantifying direct and certain specific indirect greenhouse gas impacts, is creating a tool for evaluation of the life cycle impacts of institutional food procurement and dining services. The beta version of that tool will be piloted, starting in summer 2009, by a select group of institutions across the US and Canada. As an established leader in campus sustainability, Yale University is well-positioned both to contribute to this important project and to benefit from it, as a pilot institution. The role of the “foodprint” fellow would be both to facilitate Yale’s participation in this pilot project, and to contribute to the overall project by helping CA-CP program staff analyze the results and lessons learned from the summer pilot.
Duties will include:
1. Collecting at minimum one year’s worth of historical data regarding Yale dining services procurement, operations, and waste generation and disposal.
2. Work with CA-CP to enter Yale’s data into the beta version of the new foodprint tool, and provide CA-CP with feedback related to that tool’s usability and relevance of outputs.
3. Based on the results from the foodprint tool, work with Yale dining services and other campus stakeholders to determine the impacts of specific food supply or service choices, determine whether lower-impact options exist, and explore any institutional or supply chain barriers to opting for such lower-impact choices.
4. Work with CA-CP to identify data gaps within the beta tool and potential sources of research or information relevant to those gaps.
5. Work with CA-CP to create a white paper summarizing the institutional opportunities and challenges related to mitigation of the GHG impact of food service operations, based on the experience of Yale and of other schools participating in the CA-CP pilot.
6. May work with other higher education institutions to develop comparative scenarios.
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Time commitment: Full time, 10 weeks, summer 2009; or part-time, fall semester 2009
Desired Qualifications:
1. Interest in and knowledge of the connections between food systems and sustainability
2. Familiarity with the concepts of greenhouse gas accounting and of life cycle analysis
3. A good listener and a quick learner
4. Strong analytical, writing and organizational skills
5. Ability to work independently and on a team
6. A background or interest in supply chain management and/or the food and beverage industries useful but not required
CA-CP Climate Fellowship program eligibility:
Fellowships will be open only to those enrolled in a college or university. Where possible we will ask that course credits are awarded. In order to attract the highest-quality applicants and to enable students to take advantage of these opportunities regardless of their financial situation, interns will be awarded competitive stipends, provided by CA-CP.
Supervision, Training and Mentoring
Each fellow will receive supervision and mentoring from a CA-CP program officer with day-to-day supervision by staff at the partner institution sponsoring the project. At Yale, the fellow will be housed in the Office of Sustainability but will work closely with Yale Dining personnel and the Yale Sustainable Food Project team.
- Fellows in each summer session will be expected to participate in several events:
- A two-day orientation session in Portsmouth, NH, before beginning work;
- An online “climate leadership training” series during the program term, where interns will have opportunity to talk with alumni of the program, experts and leaders in the field of climate change science, policy and solutions, and CACP staff in both formal and informal settings;
- An end-of-summer reception introducing the Fellow’s work to key supporters and partners of CA-CP.
- A summative evaluation and feedback session at the end of their placement.
These workshops and other post-fellowship communication mechanisms ensure that CACP Climate Fellows will belong to a network of passionate students and professionals, and will be able to collaborate and continue learning even after the project has ended.
Travel and Training Grants
Fellows will be encouraged to seek out training opportunities, lectures and conferences related to their work. CA-CP has set aside a fund to which fellows may apply to pay for travel to and from training or educational opportunities, registration fees and incidental expenses. To be awarded a travel/training grant, you will need to carefully research the opportunity and to make a compelling case, in a written application, as to why it would enhance work with CA-CP. Available funds will be disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Applications will be accepted until April 25th. Applicants should submit an email titled
“Climate Fellowship - Foodprint,” with attached letter of interest, resume, and list of three references to:
Jenn Andrews
Campus Program Manager
Clean Air-Cool Planet
100 Market Street, Suite 204
Portsmouth, NH 03801
jandrews@cleanair-coolplanet.org
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