AASPIRE Intern – Sustainable Purchasing Policy

The City of Madison is offering an internship in the Sustainability & Resilience Program focused on Sustainable Purchasing Policy. The intern will review and analyze the City’s purchasing policies to identify ways to reduce carbon emissions and enhance sustainability. Responsibilities include conducting research, collaborating with various departments, and presenting recommendations for policy updates to the Common Council. The position aims to support environmental goals and promote a circular economy.
This internship will be within the Sustainability & Resilience Program of the Mayor’s Office. In 2024, the Common Council passed an update to our sustainability plan, which includes a goal to “leverage City purchasing power to support products and services that reduce the City’s impact on the environment and support a circular economy.” The primary role of this internship will be to conduct a policy review of the City’s purchasing policies and identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact from the products bought by the City.

The internship will begin with research into existing City policies, followed by an analysis of peer cities to gain insights and share best practices with our staff. It will involve scheduling meetings and collaborating with departments across the City to review and enhance their purchasing policies. By the end of the internship, we aim to have finalized recommendations that will move through the regular City process to be approved by the Common Council. This position will also include broader exposure to the ongoing work staff are undertaking in the Sustainability & Resilience Program.

Position responsibilities include:
• Bring a passion to help make Madison a more sustainable and equitable community.
• Conduct effective research and make sustainability recommendations based off those findings.
• Participate in meetings with departments across the City of Madison to understand their purchasing policies and priorities, with the goal of eventually leading these discussions.
• Craft and present recommended updates to Administrative Procedure Memoranda (APM) related to sustainable purchasing policies, which the Mayor’s Office will introduce and promote for eventual adoption by the Common Council.