A2X Consulting

Just because you don’t happen to work in an industry that supports eco-friendly innovations doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to greenify your own business entity. Many companies are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint in an effort to satisfy their collective conscience, do a good turn for the community that supports them (and the global community at large), and improve their brand image through targeted efforts on behalf of the environment. This could be as simple and inexpensive as instituting a recycling program, conserving energy by using natural lighting, or allowing workers to telecommute. You might also consider major moves like adding solar power, switching up your supply chain to form green partnerships, or even seeking out a LEED certified facility in which to operate. But whatever level of green living you support in your business you might want to think about ways that you can encourage students to adopt eco-ideals by the way you run your internship program.

A good place to start is by making your program paperless. Most students live in cyberspace the majority of the time anyway, so requiring them to fill out an application online and submit electronically rather than handing in paperwork will create at least one green link in the internship chain. This will provide you with easy access to files that are all in one place and available for reference with nothing more than a double click. You can also inform them by email of whether or not they have been accepted as an intern with your organization. And when it comes to sending in required reports on their progress to professors (so that they can be graded for participating in your program) you can file these documents electronically, as well.

Another option is to select students that already have an interest in eco-friendly operations. You might look for interns majoring in relevant degree programs or even limit your internship opportunities to schools that specialize in eco-innovation. And although there are strict limitations on what interns are allowed to do while in your “employ”, you might consider adding them to teams that are making targeted efforts to create a clean, green atmosphere within the workplace. Perhaps students can even participate in these efforts by adding their own knowledge and creativity to the process. In this way both parties can get more out of the internship experience while working for a brighter tomorrow.

Of course, you might also tailor your program to impart your own eco-friendly ideals. By offering an internship program you are helping to shape the work ethics of a student who will soon enter the professional world. This means you have an enormous responsibility, but also a great opportunity to give these students valuable information and the tools they’ll need to make the most of their chosen career paths. They may start out simply enough by clicking the “visit site” link on your internship application, but from there they deserve to get the best that your company has to offer, and that includes not only job training, but also lessons on how employees can make businesses into industry leaders. So if you harbor strong convictions about the role of corporations in helping to clean up the environment, make sure that your internship program aims to create a responsible and compassionate workforce with eco-friendly sensibilities at its core.