By Mikayla Perry
This past Summer, I had the opportunity to work as the first ever Sustainability intern for Cabot Corporation, whose world headquarters are located in Seaport, Boston. Cabot Corporation is a leading specialty chemicals and performance materials company focused around developing innovative solutions to customers in markets such as transportation, infrastructure, environment, and consumerism. Cabot’s business approach is embedded in their commitment to sustainability in order to operate responsibly, conserve resources, and eventually achieve their net zero ambitions. My job as intern for the Safety, Health, and Environment department was to access Cabot’s sustainability metrics and performance and assist on sustainability-based projects such as Cabot’s annual Sustainability Report and CDP Filing. All the larger projects and micro projects throughout the summer allowed me to grow my toolkit within the corporate sustainability realm and gain practical skills necessary for the workforce.
The largest project that I worked on was a 2023 Benchmarking Project, comparing Cabot’s qualitative and quantitative ESG metrics against 53 peer companies within multiple sub-industries. Benchmarking is important for Cabot to remain a leader in sustainability within the Carbon Black industry, as it allows for cross-comparisons of ESG goals and innovations to improve their own. Recently, I was given the opportunity to continue working for Cabot in their SH&E department through my graduation of the MS Sustainability Program in May 2024.
My favorite element of the MS Sustainability program is that it set me up for success in the real world. Having entered this program directly from my undergraduate career, I had little to no full-time work experience. The provided courses allow students to cater learning specifically to their interests, mine being corporate sustainability. Courses such as GreenHouse Gas Accounting Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Economics for Policy and Planning provided me with skills that correlated directly to my position with Cabot Corporation. UEP is not only a mechanism for learning, it provides students with industry-level expertise that they will hold for the rest of their careers.