Summer Intern, Sustainability

Description

About the Internship

The Office of Sustainability (OS) is looking for three interns to join their team! OS leads the Port Authority's sustainability policy, target-setting, reporting, and program level strategy, including the Agency's Net Zero greenhouse gas reduction target by 2050 for all emissions. Assignments include hands-on projects where interns quickly become part of the team and help meet the agency's sustainability goals.

Responsibilities:

Specific responsibilities will depend on an intern's interests and the team's priorities. Candidates are encouraged to express which sustainability areas are of most interest in a brief cover letter. Below are the sustainability areas that may be covered during this internship:

• Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs): OS is working on several efforts to convert vehicles and equipment to electric or other low and zero-emission alternatives, and to build out sufficient charging infrastructure. The intern will support with specific projects in partnership with other internal and external stakeholders including but not limited to: research on ZEVs and charging infrastructure technology and policy, data analysis and visualization of current charging infrastructure usage, planning engagement events with vehicle operators, and support with implementation and testing of pilot projects.
• Airport Carbon Accreditation ACA reporting: Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) is a global carbon management certification program for airports that independently assesses and recognizes airports for managing and reducing their carbon emissions through 6 levels of certification. All five Port Authority airports are currently certified at level 3 (Optimization). The intern will support the annual certification process by gathering relevant climate related data, providing critical review, and coordinating with internal stakeholders.
• Climate Week Event Organization: Each year in September, the Port Authority participates in Climate Week NYC by hosting topical events around sustainability and convening experts to raise the ambition locally and globally when it comes to environmental initiatives. Past topics included sustainable aviation fuel and electric aircraft, and clean construction. The intern will assist with researching the event topic, coordinating with internal and external stakeholders, setting the agenda, and facilitating preliminary logistics.
• Energy Use Benchmarking and Energy Management: The Port Authority is committed to reducing energy use from buildings on our property. To address this strategically, we are analyzing our portfolio's energy usage and benchmarking against local standards and high-performing buildings. Subsequently, potential measures to manage and reduce energy use need to be implemented. The intern will assist with data analysis and coordination of measures towards this end.
• Building and Infrastructure Decarbonization: The Port Authority has committed to decarbonizing our portfolio and is in the process of electrifying many of our buildings. The intern will support building-related projects that might include: developing tracking tools for decarbonization projects across the agency, researching national decarbonization policies and building performance standards, developing internal resources around refrigerant management, research into thermal energy networks and emerging technology, and assisting with the development of an operations and maintenance protocol.
• Zero Waste: Work on the Port Authority's recently initiated Zero Waste program, which aims to reduce overall waste generation at Port Authority facilities, and find opportunities to divert waste toward sustainable end uses such as reuse, repurpose, donation, recycling, composting, anerobic digestion, etc. Intern projects may include developing an awards program, including a zero waste event ceremony for tenants demonstrating successful achievement of waste reduction and diversion, researching emerging waste management technologies and pitching pilots of those technologies for implementation to the Port Authority innovation hub, and implementing updated internal standard operating procedures to reduce waste and increase waste diversion.
• Utility Metering & Data Management: The Port Authority is advancing its status towards being a Utility of the Future, and is putting measures in place for this purpose. The Intern will assist with project management of utility submetering installations and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) at Port Authority and tenant sites; assist with data completeness and integrity of invoices and agency utility data in a proprietary database system; work with the Utilities Analyst and Aviation Properties on verifying tenant lease lists against current utility invoicing and determining missing tenant leases and/or invoicing. Other projects may include outreach to facility maintenance and/or financial analysts on utility accounts' discrepancies, service location, cost, and consumption verification.
• Water Management: The Port Authority is undergoing an effort to better understand the agency's water usage trends and improve water efficiency and conservation across facilities. The intern will assist in creating a comprehensive assessment of water utility infrastructure at each facility and manage data discrepancies. Other tasks may include field work to accurately catalogue meter information and helping to create tailored water efficiency and conservation plans.

• Enrollment at a college or university at the time of the internship
• Graduate-level student
• Major in Sustainability or a related discipline

• Knowledge of and interest in sustainability principles
• Excellent organizational and communications skills
• Research skills and resourcefulness
• Ability to work with a variety of internal and external partners
• Skilled in Microsoft Excel and management of large datasets
• Ability to take initiative to advance projects

• The start date will be Thursday, May 28, 2026
• The internship will last approximately 12 weeks, ending on Friday, August 21, 2026
• This is a full-time internship (5 days per week at 7.25 hours per day)
• In accordance with Port Authority policy, this position permits interns to work remotely a maximum of one day per week. In person collaboration is essential to how the Port Authority conducts business and regular in-office days or team collaboration days may be required depending on business needs. Some internships may require interns to be fully in-person.

• Only applicants under consideration will be contacted
• If selected to move forward, the hiring team will reach out directly to schedule 1-2 interviews
• Different internships will have different timelines for interviews

• The hourly rate range is $18.07 to $30.31 (the exact rate will be determined by internship type and rising school year)
• Ability to opt in to the New York State and Local Retirement System
• Access to Employee Business Resource Groups
• Facility Tours
• Career Panels
• Social/Networking Events