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Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Research Assistant - Summer 2024

Y Analytics
Email

Location: Remote

  • Interns located in the DC metro area will have the option of coming into the office

Duration: Late May/Early June 2024 - Late August 2024

Time Commitment: Preferably 40 hours per week

Application Instructions: In lieu of a cover letter, please prepare a 1-page response to the prompts listed at the bottom of this job description. Please send your resume and response to Jobs@YAnalytics.org and include a subject line in the following format: “Last Name, FirstName – ESG RA Application”. Alternatively, applicants may send in their materials through Handshake.

TPG Background

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm with a long history of investing in growth, change, and innovation. Founded in San Francisco in 1992, the firm now manages more than $200 billion with investment and operations teams in offices around the world. TPG invests across a range of asset classes including private equity, growth equity, real estate, impact investing, secondaries, and public equity. Across all strategies, we maintain a rigorous investment process and a deep, research-based approach to theme and sector development. 

Y Analytics

Y Analytics’ mission is to increase the amount and effectiveness of capital allocation for the greater good, as described in the UN SDGs, by increasing trust in the social and environmental impact achieved by that capital. Y Analytics was launched in parallel to The Rise Fund and founded in partnership with TPG/Rise to provide best in-class insights and tools that improve capital allocation decisions. Its rigorous approach to impact assessment and management draws on evidentiary academic and economic research, enabling greater use of evidence in capital allocation decision-making and impact valuation. In addition to conducting impact valuation for the TPG Rise Funds, Y Analytics is also responsible for managing sustainability/ESG across TPG. The team supports TPG and its portfolio companies by assessing and advising on value creation for Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) performance, in addition to providing analytics and reporting on ESG matters.

Position

Y Analytics is seeking an Environmental, Social & Governance Research Assistant (RA) to support research and analysis of social impact from existing and potential investments, and drive improved performance on ESG factors across TPG’s global investment portfolio. The Research Assistant will contribute to fast-paced teams conducting deal work and engaging TPG’s portfolio companies on ESG topics with a focus on climate change risk and greenhouse gas emissions management. The position is open to current Master’s students or advanced undergraduates and is a great opportunity for someone who is passionate about climate, ESG/impact, global development, and/or economics and who has a strong desire to expand and deepen knowledge of impact and ESG analysis in a client-focused environment.

Requirements

  • Must be authorized to work in the U.S.
  • Master’s student or advanced undergraduate  (i.e. student entering their final year of undergraduate studies) currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sustainability, Business, Economics, Public Administration, or another relevant program
  • Experience or demonstrated interest in ESG, corporate social responsibility, climate/sustainability, consulting, finance, impact investing, or a related field
  • Ability to efficiently conduct and synthesize market research
  • Excellent Excel skills
  • Excellent PowerPoint skills
  • Excellent written and spoken communication skills, and fluency in English
  • Experience with ESG performance assessment/reporting frameworks (e.g., SASB, GRI) is a plus

Application Prompt (please limit your response to a single page or less):

Sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics (e.g., post-consumer resins, recyclable plastic, bioplastics) are becoming more viable to manufacture and are highly demanded by top commercial consumers (e.g., consumer packaged goods, food & beverage producers). These “sustainable plastics” may have superior carbon sequestration capacity and other environmental benefits compared to traditional plastics; however, the plastic industry as a whole is increasingly the subject of public scrutiny due to the ecological impacts of pollution and microplastics.

Please address the following research questions with a 2-3 sentence response to each. Two sources (source 1, source 2) are provided for your reference, but please find and cite additional sources as needed.

1. What are the environmental pros and cons of sustainable plastic alternatives?

2. What are the headwinds and tailwinds for the broader plastics industry (i.e., what are the macro trends in favor of or against the industry)?

3. What recommendations would you provide to a deal team considering investing in a company that manufactures a mix of conventional and sustainable plastic packaging solutions? Please consider what additional data you would like to collect, what opportunities for impact-aligned value creation can be found, and any potential risks.