Building a Duke Student Environmental Consultancy (2026-2027)

Background

Decarbonization is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating climate change and protecting public health. Local governments, school systems, nonprofits and small businesses often want to advance sustainability goals but lack the staff capacity, technical expertise or financial resources to analyze data, assess options or implement climate action plans.

In Durham, organizations such as Durham Public Schools (DPS) and the City of Durham consistently cite these constraints as barriers to progress. At the same time, Duke students are eager for community-engaged, environmentally focused consulting opportunities that allow them to apply classroom knowledge to real sustainability problems. Yet students often struggle to identify opportunities across Duke’s decentralized ecosystem, and community partners find it challenging to navigate Duke programs or sustain partnerships across years of student turnover.

This project aims to address both sides of that challenge by developing a Duke Student Environmental Consultancy, a structured, enduring mechanism through which Durham organizations can access pro bono sustainability consulting, and Duke students can gain meaningful experiential learning opportunities.

Project Description

The project team will launch the first working cohort of a Duke Student Environmental Consultancy and create a blueprint for a long-term institutional model. The Consultancy will pair partner organizations in Durham with Duke students who will provide analysis, recommendations and tools to accelerate the partners’ environmental and sustainability objectives.

Specific project activities include:

• Producing foundational analyses for decarbonization projects
During Summer 2026, a Climate+ team will develop generalizable greenhouse gas modeling and visualization tools using DPS energy and procurement data. These tools will support a scalable, data-driven consulting model throughout the academic year.

• Designing governance, structure and training for a permanent Consultancy model
The team will map Duke’s existing academic, co-curricular and administrative resources related to sustainability and consulting. They will recommend how best to integrate the Consultancy into Duke’s institutional ecosystem and what resources are needed for long-term success.

• Conducting landscape assessments and stakeholder interviews
Students will survey Durham organizations about their needs and interest in sustainability consulting and survey Duke students about their interest in participating in the Consultancy.

• Delivering consulting services to 2-3 Durham community partners
Student consulting teams will work with DPS and other Durham organizations to develop and implement climate action plans. They may provide support for projects such as climate action planning, emissions benchmarking, assessing cost and feasibility of decarbonization pathways and preparing grant applications.

The final product will be a clear, actionable plan for launching an enduring Duke Student Environmental Consultancy and a suite of consulting deliverables for Durham partners.

Anticipated Outputs

Comprehensive plan and blueprint for establishing a permanent Duke Student Environmental Consultancy
Governance, structure and training recommendations
Mapping of Duke and external resources that can support the Consultancy
Gap analysis and recommendations for university leadership
Consulting deliverables for partner organizations, such as:
– Emissions baselines
– Solar feasibility analyses
– Decarbonization pathway modeling
– Climate action plan development or implementation support
– Grant and funding proposal support

Student Opportunities

Ideally, this team will include 3 graduate students and 9 undergraduate students from environmental science, engineering, economics, public policy, business and computer science. Students from North Carolina and Durham are especially encouraged to participate.

Students will work in interdisciplinary consulting subgroups, each led by a graduate student, and will meet weekly as a full team. Undergraduates and graduate students will collaborate on tasks such as:

Conducting energy audits and greenhouse gas accounting
Evaluating technical and financial aspects of decarbonization technologies
Assessing cost–benefit tradeoffs and return on investment
Developing climate action plans and feasibility studies
Conducting surveys and producing landscape analyses
Presenting findings and recommendations to community partners
Building professional skills in communication, project management and client engagement

Graduate students will gain leadership experience by mentoring undergraduates, managing client relationships and applying their technical expertise.

See the related Climate+ project for Summer 2026; there is a separate application process for students who are interested in this optional component.

Timing

Summer 2026 – Spring 2027

Summer 2026 (optional):

Students in the related Climate+ project begin scoping community partnerships
Development of generalizable greenhouse gas modeling tools
Background briefings and onboarding for new team members

Fall 2026:

Begin consulting work with 2–3 community partners
Survey Durham organizations about consulting needs
Identify Duke resources relevant to the Consultancy

Spring 2027:

Continue consulting engagements and deliver reports and recommendations
Assess Duke student interest and resources needed for Consultancy
Develop final Consultancy blueprint for university leadership

Summer 2027 (optional):

Continued sustainability consulting with new and existing partners

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters

See related Climate+ summer project, Building a Duke Student Environmental Consultancy (2026).