Here’s how 40% of Fortune 100 companies have advanced their sustainability goals (and you can too)

Companies are being asked to do more on sustainability, but that request doesn’t always come with extra budget or bandwidth. At the same time, the ranks of chief sustainability officers have declined for the first time in 15 years, according to news reports. A related trend shows that the responsibility for sustainability goals is being spread across departments, including procurement, operations, legal and compliance.  

Companies increasingly understand the risk and potential losses of not investing in sustainability, but many lack the capacity to interpret the risks and act on the opportunity. The good news is that companies can realize ambitious sustainability goals with the help of a Climate Corps Fellow.

For nearly two decades, Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps ® Fellowship has matched highly qualified graduate students with host companies to advance sustainability goals. Fellows are expertly selected and matched to company sustainability goals, where they can make tangible progress on high-priority projects in a 10-to-12-week summer fellowship.   

Not Your Average Intern

Climate Corps Fellows bring more than their own know-how. They are actively supported by EDF experts, extensive fellowship programming and an active network of more than 4,000 global network members across 40 countries. That means Climate Corps Fellows offer much more than a typical intern.  

This is why more than 700 organizations, including 40% of Fortune 100 companies, have trusted Climate Corps Fellows with their sustainability projects. Climate Corps Fellows have identified over $1.65 billion in energy savings that advance sustainability goals and the bottom line.   

“Cabot’s experience with the EDF Climate Corps Fellowship program has been outstanding,” said Jed Davis, VP of Strategic Engagement & Sustainability at Cabot Creamery, a Climate Corps host. “The contributions of two consecutive fellows have bolstered our efforts to enhance the rigor and authenticity of our sustainability journey.”

Hosting a Climate Corps Fellow saves sustainability teams time and money spent on recruiting and training entry-level staff members that require a niche set of skills and competencies. To find your perfect match, EDF recruits qualified prospective applicants from graduate schools around the country. The result? A highly competitive, gold-standard fellowship that creates opportunities for ambitious students with the right experience to tackle an increasingly complex sustainability landscape.

Fellows are adaptable and ready to tackle a variety of sustainability challenges. Common projects include developing tools that reduce energy consumption, procuring renewable energy sources and engaging suppliers. Fellows have worked across industries and sectors, including finance, transportation and agriculture, and they bring innovative and unique insights. They have an average of four years of professional experience before graduate school.  

Some of the accomplishments of these award-winning fellows include developing strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of AI for big tech, building collaborative networks among suppliers to advance climate action in the global shrimp supply chain, and building a compelling business case for sustainability to strengthen company valuations for private equity.

Sustainability happens throughout organizations, and Climate Corps fellows are not limited to working on sustainability teams. These versatile experts have been deployed frequently across a variety of departments, such as legal and compliance, operations and procurement.  

Your Company Could be Next

Companies are moving from lofty sustainability commitments to focus on ROI, resilience and measurable business outcomes. A total of 42% of companies now track measurable execution of sustainability KPIs. The responsibility to deliver on those KPIs is increasingly spread across cross-functional teams. But your company does not have to navigate this shift alone.  

With its ever-growing network and expanding access to expertise, EDF’s Climate Corps is dynamically meeting the evolving sustainability needs of companies around the world. That’s why there has never been a better time to host a Fellow.

Climate Corps hosts also benefit from shaping the future of corporate sustainability beyond a single team. Climate Corps Fellows go on to become the sustainability leaders and decision makers of tomorrow, with a quarter of alumni holding director-level roles.  

Are you ready to realize the cost savings and sustainability achievements a Climate Corps Fellow can offer? Are you ready to shape the future of corporate sustainability? Visit business.edf.org/climate-corps/hosts/us/ for more information about hosting a Climate Corps Fellow in 2027.