Behind the Scenes of a Climate Transition: My Internship with ACT
By Shruti Katiyar
Ever wonder how local governments actually get climate policy off the ground? I used to think of clean energy as something driven by federal policies or big companies. But this spring, I learned just how crucial towns and small cities are in shaping our climate future—and how nonprofits like the Alliance for Climate Transition (ACT) are helping them do it.
From February to April 2025, I had the opportunity to intern with ACT, a nonprofit focused on accelerating New England’s clean energy transition. Though remote, the internship was anything but passive. I worked closely with ACT’s research and programs team to understand how local governments are supporting climate-aligned businesses and infrastructure and where the significant gaps still exist.
What I Worked On
My main project was to create a strategic evaluation framework for ACT and its municipal partners. The goal? To help ACT better understand where cities and towns are taking meaningful action—and where support is still needed.
To do that, I designed a six-sheet Excel tool to turn a messy collection of municipal actions into a resource that could drive strategy. The tool included:
A 12-category scoring system to assess actions by their strategic value (like policy readiness or affordability)
A cleaned-up inventory of real municipal actions across the region
A matrix to spot patterns across different states
Interview questions to fill in data gaps and test emerging insights
Think of it like taking a jigsaw puzzle of policies and zoning codes—and turning it into a usable roadmap.
What I Found
Once the tool was up and running, I started analyzing patterns. I found that zoning flexibility, trust between communities and government, and smart permitting processes are powerful enablers of local climate action.
But I also found a lot of missed opportunities—like the lack of support for early-stage climate startups in smaller towns, or underused partnerships with the private sector. These findings helped shape a practical framework I recommended to ACT to guide future work: where to focus, who to collaborate with, and how to support business ecosystems that align with climate goals.
What I Took Away
I went into this role with very little background on New England’s energy landscape—but I left with a solid understanding of the region’s policy environment and the nuts and bolts of municipal decarbonization. More importantly, it helped clarify my own professional goals.
This internship reaffirmed my interest in energy regulation, compliance, and strategy. It also sharpened my research and synthesis skills and taught me how to present findings in a way that actually supports decision-making—not just in theory, but in practice.
Final Thoughts
For anyone interested in the intersection of public policy, clean energy, and local action, I can’t recommend experiences like this enough. They’re a reminder that climate work isn’t just happening in boardrooms or federal agencies—it’s unfolding in town halls, zoning boards, and community meetings, one decision at a time.
Shruti Katiyar is currently pursuing her Master’s in International Business at The Fletcher School, Tufts University and is a compliance and policy specialist with a background in financial regulation, ESG frameworks, and legal risk analysis.