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At the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund, short: MGB) I was employed in the Sustainability and Quality Directorate. My internship was divided between the Social Standards and Ecology and Sustainability Labels teams. The main topics I dealt with were working conditions and social compliance in the Migros supply chain, as well as the issue of food waste.
In my 90% employment during my six-month internship at MGB, I worked as part of a 6-person social standards team. Additionally, I was able to get involved in the ecology field of sustainability where I worked on a food waste reduction project. Both teams I worked with and colleagues in the sustainability department in general were very friendly and open-minded – a great working environment. In terms of organization, all employees at the MGB have a lot of freedom like the possibility of home office and flexible working hours model.
During my internship, I had a mentor who was responsible for me and with whom I worked the most. However, I got the opportunity to work with several colleagues and support them in various projects. The focus of my team, as well as my internship, was on working conditions in supply chains whereby I got in-depth insights in how Migros as a retailer manages compliance with social standards and conduct due diligence to ensure that the product range are produced responsibly. Thematically I engaged in 3 main topics: working conditions on fishing vessels, living wages in garment supply chains and food waste. The nature of work was ranging from operational duties (controlling social audits), strategic and project work (setting up a wage data collection tool to help achieve living wages and working with cooperations to address the issue of food waste in supermarkets), to research (literature reviews) and stakeholder engagement (between cooperatives, supplier interviews, and team exchanges). In general, I had a great experience and would recommend this internship to others.
My background in human geography provided me with a good foundation in the core topics of the social standards team. I was able to apply my academic knowledge, with GEO364, GEO433, and UWW172 being useful thematic foundations.
This internship was announced on several job platforms (e.g., öbu), where I subscribed to the term “sustainability”. Since the job ad seemed to be the perfect match with my interests and know-how, I immediately applied directly on the Migros job platform. As a prerequisite, a bachelor’s degree was required.
Mirjam Steiger
