"Michael Binnion: The next generation of energy leaders will lead a new relationship with society

Michael Binnion / JWN Energy

FEBRUARY 18, 2020 07:46 AM"


"University of Northern British Columbia environmental and engineering professor Dr. Jianbing Li is leading part of a national project looking at ways to separate oil from water to make it more efficient and less costly to clean up marine oil spills.

Photo By UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA"


"I had the pleasure once again of being moderator and sponsor for the Oil & Gas Beyond Boomers event on February 7. I think this is becoming one of the most important conversations in Calgary for our industry’s future and it was once again a full house at the Petroleum Club. It was fun to combine my roles as executive director of Modern Miracle Network, who founded the event, and governor of the Canadian Energy Executive Association, who hosts and underwrites it.

The event is now co-hosted by 10 young professional organizations in Calgary. I know! Who even knew there were 10 young professional organizations in Calgary?"


"The theme of the event is: What does our energy industry look like in 2050 after the baby boomers are gone and retired. We have already learned one thing for sure, based on the young professionals that show up. In the future, we will be over 50 per cent women. Our panels have reflected that, being comprised of a majority of young women presenting their vision for our future.

I have been surprised how much I have learned from moderating the first three years of this conversation from our next generation of future energy leaders."

"In year one the idea was to talk to people at the beginning of their career about why they needed to advocate for our industry. After all, it’s their career, not the career of grumpy old men with white hair that will be affected. Sadly, I found that many of our youngest and brightest are questioning whether they should even have a career in oil and gas. Moreover, a lot of them are wondering if there is a future for them in Alberta.

The other important learning from our first conference speakers was that we should stop talking about what the demand for oil and gas will be in 2050 but rather what it should be . This is because more and more it is less market decisions but societal decisions that will determine our future energy mix. It means a whole new approach and relationship for our industry with society.

In the second year, we heard a consistent theme from a panel of all young women. They asked our industry to realize that Millennials want to believe in what they do and who they work for. They want us to talk much less about markets and facts and how much we know. They want us to talk more about what we believe in and what’s true about our future aspirations for our companies and our industry.

I think this third year was the most exciting and inspiring. Thought leaders talked to us about how our industry is in a unique position to lead. They said to connect with society we need to recognize it’s a truth that fuelling human progress — as the population grows from 7.5 billion to 9.5 billion — comes with genuine environmental risks and impacts. One of those important environmental risks is climate change and emissions.

If we are to meet the seemingly impossible challenge of maintaining human progress in the future while at the same time reducing the environmental impacts, then the world needs our industry to lead. Our industry is uniquely qualified with the experience, expertise and capital to take on this challenge. It will require technological leaps and innovation, and it’s clear we will require the youngest and brightest to find the solutions and help lead our industry to a better relationship with society.

It’s not just the future of our industry that depends on us being the leaders in energy innovation. The whole world does.

Michael Binnion is the president and CEO and founding shareholder of Questerre Energy. Most recently he founded the Modern Miracle Network, an organization of Canadians wanting adult conversations about the benefits and impacts of energy use.

 

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