HSBC assistant programmer Nathan Wood will head to Manitoba in Canada to work with scientists investigating climate change.
Colleague Phillip Haughton, a programmer, will join experts monitoring the meerkat population at the Kuruman River Reserve in South Africa.
Both men will be away for two weeks as part of Investing in Nature, an £11 million project run by HSBC and environmental group Earthwatch.
Nathan said: "I hope to learn a lot more about global changes and the role that individuals can play.
"There is so much talk of climate change in the media, and it is easy to feel helpless. I hope this project will educate me about the environmental changes facing our planet, so I can return home and spread my knowledge."
Phillip and Nathan were selected from more than 220,000 HSBC employees around the world. They are two of 500 HSBC Environmental Fellows who will work on Earthwatch conservation projects in 2005.
HSBC spokeswoman Irene Dorner said: "Our employees will be investing a massive amount of time and energy in conservation and we expect it to change them and us.
"We want HSBC Fellows to become environmental ambassadors within the company, sharing what they learn with colleagues."