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The term “Brain Trust” was coined in the 1930s by a New York Times reporter to describe a group of advisors who provided advice to Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidential campaign. Today, the term is used more broadly to describe a prized group of advisors who hold expertise in their particular fields. Under that definition it is easy to see that the Energy Futures Lab is indeed one of our province’s greatest brain trusts. The FSDS is the government’s plan and vision for a more sustainable Canada. It outlines how 37 federal government departments and agencies are working to create a sustainable economy and protect the environment for the next three years. The EFL brings over 40 fellows together to reimagine the future of Alberta’s energy system. These fellows come from all parts of the energy industry – entrepreneurs developing new technologies, managers from the province’s biggest oil and gas companies, government employees, ENGO representatives, First Nations leaders; the list could go on and on. Each of these individuals brings their own unique lens to addressing our challenges and capitalizing our opportunities. And that’s why I decided to enlist the EFL brain trust in helping me to advise Canada’s Environment Minister on our nation’s Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS). What is the FSDS? This Spring I was approached by Environment Canada to join their Advisory Committee for the FSDS and represent Alberta in the effort. To give you some context, the Federal Sustainable Development Act was adopted in 2008 and set out a requirement “to require the development and implementation of a Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and the development of goals and targets with respect to sustainable development in Canada.” The FSDS is the government’s plan and vision for a more sustainable Canada. It outlines how 37 federal government departments and agencies are working to create a sustainable economy and protect the environment for the next three years. It also outlines the Government of Canada’s environmental sustainability contributions to the 2030 Agenda, a set of global sustainable development goals. How was the EFL engaged? When I started thinking about how to compile my feedback on the strategy, the first thing I decided was that I wanted to be representative and inclusive of diverse viewpoints. Given that I am representing Alberta, it did not seem sufficient to simply submit simply my own recommendations. The EFL was the perfect group to approach to ensure that I had the views of people who look at the system in different ways. The fellows reside all over Alberta so we chose to engage virtually. I sent the strategy around to the fellowship and the government provided an online webinar explaining the strategy to the fellows. Many individuals provided their feedback to me as well as directly to the public submission portal to ensure it was properly documented and recorded. I also took the feedback and augmented my own recommendations to ensure they represented a more broad view. What was the outcome? The fellows helped me to think more deeply about how sustainable development is framed in Canada, how to meaningfully engage labour force, and how to balance the three pillars of sustainable development – social, economic, and environmental. Their advice was incredibly helpful and many of the points they raised are items I will raise directly with Minister McKenna later this month when the Advisory Council meets with her directly. For those of you who are interested, you can read my full submission here. This is just one example of how the EFL’s collective knowledge can be mobilized to influence the future of our economic, environmental and social systems in Canada. With technology making diverse viewpoints more accessible, it is my hope that the idea of tapping into brain trusts will become more prevalent in policy and strategy building. #Culture_Shift #Fellowship #2016 #Federal_Sustainable_Development_Strategy

Kali Taylor: Activating the Energy Futures Lab “Brain Trust”

The term “Brain Trust” was coined in the 1930s by a New York Times reporter to describe a group of advisors who provided advice to Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidential campaign. Today, the term is used more broadly to describe a prized group of advisors who hold expertise in their particular fields. Under that definition it is easy to see that the Energy Futures Lab is indeed one of our province’s greatest brain trusts. The FSDS is the government’s plan and vision for a more...

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The Energy Futures Lab is all about the energy system. In fact, the idea is built right into our convening question “How can Alberta’s leadership position in today’s energy system serve as a platform for transitioning to the energy system the future needs?” But what do we really mean by the energy system? It is important to keep in mind the great quote from George E.P. Box “All models are wrong but some are useful”. Is the energy system all about oil and gas? What about electricity production? Does it include renewables? Transportation? Agriculture? Are we talking about Alberta alone? Or in a Canadian context? What about exports to the US and overseas? And what about how people actually use energy? These are all parts of the energy system which makes creating a single picture quite a challenge. To try and address this challenge, we thought about those old anatomy books that used transparency layers to show different parts of the body. What would it look like to have multiple layers of the energy system? http://www.glocktalk.com/attachments/image-jpg.240989/ I took this idea and started my research looking at energy maps and models from the International Energy Association, Student Energy, CESAR, and others to create a first draft map. After garnering a LOT of feedback from the Fellows who live, work and breathe the energy system, a sub-group of fellows – Nathan Maycher, Binnu Jeyakumar, Matt Beck & Michael Benson – met with me over a couple of months to refine the model and present the revised version for the Fellowship’s approval. It is important to keep in mind the great quote from George E.P. Box – “All models are wrong but some are useful”. What he was getting at is that all models are simplifications with trade-offs between completeness and understandability. The draft map and layers we have agreed on are simplified versions of reality but have enough fidelity that we can start to see patterns and map our activities (such as prototypes and Innovation Pathways) to the model. So what did we end up with? First, we have a Base Layer. This takes a value chain approach with raw materials at the left and energy use at the right. There are two rows – the first representing the hydrocarbon part of the system, the second thermal (heat) and electricity generation. One of the first things to notice is that the real system is not this organized! Hydrocarbons are used for electricity production, biofuels can be used for transportation, heat can come from natural gas, electricity or geothermal. But mapping the system this way lets us start to zero in on where we want to make impact and be more precise about our descriptions. Working draft Next, we looked at the economic drivers of the energy system. First and foremost is the import and export of energy – one of the driving forces of Alberta’s and Canada’s economy. Those imports and exports, and the development of Alberta’s energy system in general are impacted by factors outside the province like the level of demand for energy from China, actions by OPEC and other producers that affect the price of oil, labour costs and incentives for low carbon production. Working draft In addition to economics, there are obvious environmental connections for the Alberta energy system. Here we used the Natural Step’s four system conditions of a sustainable society which includes looking at what we are extracting from the lithosphere (the Earth’s crust) and what we are putting back into the biosphere. Communities are right in the middle as they both benefit from and are exposed to the risks of energy production in the province. Working draft Next up is looking at the energy system through the Multi-Level Perspective on systems transition. All of the work we do is within a broad socio-cultural landscape that includes narratives like “Canada is an energy superpower” and political events like changing governments. Within the regime are the “rules of the game” in the form of regulations, legislation, policy and organizations such as the Alberta Energy Regulator, building codes, renewables policy and our existing energy infrastructure. At the niche level, Albertans are innovating in many ways – in cleaner oilsands production, in renewable technology, in energy storage and in policy. Finally, we have stakeholders. This includes industry, landowners, towns and cities, Indigenous communities and the public at large. All of these groups are impacted by the energy system in one way or another and all have opinions and views that must be taken into account as we look at energy transition. In addition, energy demand from the public is a huge driver of the energy system in general and we have to account for the fact that no one really wants “energy”. What people want is to heat and light their homes, move their vehicles, cook their dinners, charge their phones and wash their clothes. Whew! That’s a lot – and I’m sure we are missing some layers. We would love to hear from you about areas we could add. Or if you have seen other great examples of mapping the energy system. In a future blog post, we will show you how we are using these maps to look at our prototypes and innovation pathways. This helps us answer questions such as: where might we have gaps in our approach? Where are there partners who are already doing this work? What are the levers we can pull that would give us the biggest impact? More soon! #Culture_Shift #Fellowship #2016

Steve Williams: Visualizing the Energy System

The Energy Futures Lab is all about the energy system. In fact, the idea is built right into our convening question “How can Alberta’s leadership position in today’s energy system serve as a platform for transitioning to the energy system the future needs?” But what do we really mean by the energy system? It is important to keep in mind the great quote from George E.P. Box “All models are wrong but some are useful”. Is the energy system all about oil and gas? What about electricity...

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Accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy system is a pretty big goal. Let’s face it, if we could meet this challenge with a step-by-step approach, we would have solved it by now. How do we keep track? How can we make sure that we are delivering value to the Fellows and contributing to systems change? How do we know when we getting to the “breakthrough results” we are looking for? But we know these change processes are highly complex and very difficult to predict in advance. In addition, the EFL has many moving parts – Fellows, workshops, prototypes, public events, partnerships with businesses and governments and all of the activities the Fellows are doing in their day jobs. How do we keep track? How can we make sure that we are delivering value to the Fellows and contributing to systems change? How do we know when we getting to the “breakthrough results” we are looking for? From the beginning, we made a serious commitment to evaluation, specifically Developmental Evaluation (DE). In contrast to summative or formative evaluation, developmental evaluation is used to track changes in a project in response to events on the ground. It is also designed to help people running the project to adjust and pivot on the fly rather than waiting for a couple of years to get feedback that something is not working well. Mark Cabaj has been leading the evaluation work for the EFL and I have been collaborating with him from a research lens. We have been collecting data at a number of levels. First, we have detailed feedback after each workshop that help surface issues to address and areas we can explore further in future workshops. We have also conducted in-depth interviews with each of the Fellows before the Lab started and again in April. Figure 1: From “A Developmental Evaluation Primer” We ask questions about what changes are happening with Fellows as individuals, in their prototype, working teams, their organizations and their social/professional networks. We uncover barriers to, and opportunities for, transition and where Fellows are seeing signs of transition in the energy system. These techniques give great value for both theory and practice. From a practical side, the results of the feedback and interviews leads directly into the EFL design. These DE process are providing the Design Team with the information they need to be highly responsive and ensure Fellows are receiving the support they need to tackle the challenges inherent in their prototype and working groups. From a theory side, my PhD research is on the societal effect of processes like the EFL – what effect do they have on policy, regulation, organizations, narratives of energy in Alberta, attitudes and behaviour changes? These are big questions and we are still early in the process. So what did we find? First, leading up to the last workshop in Kananaskis we found a set of tensions. As you may expect from such a diverse set of Fellows, there was a variety of feedback. Some Fellows felt we were spending too much time on process while others valued the learning about new forms of facilitation and feedback. Some felt the prototype teams were not making progress, others were very enthusiastic about their work. What was common across the feedback was a set of 3 pivots. Fellows signalled that they were now prepared to begin: Transitioning from one-off prototypes to working groups with a portfolio of initiatives to build together Advancing the learnings from the organizational engagement pilot with Suncor to create more structured engagements and tools to share the EFL experience with more people and organizations Shifting from Fellows working inside the EFL to the EFL having a public voice Anticipating the significant steps forward, we designed the latest workshop to include more time to think bigger about how EFL Fellows are going to work with partners outside the Lab. In preparation, the Fellows developed the Vision and Innovation Pathways document to share across Alberta, and began to self-organize into working groups based on the Innovation Pathways. More to come soon on the Innovation Pathways! What’s next? We are continuing to track progress of the prototype and Innovation Pathways groups and will be interviewing Fellows again in the Fall of 2016 and twice more in 2017 to see what changes are happening. We will also be digging deeper into tracking how the EFL is creating impact through evaluation methods such as Bellwether interviews, process tracking and media scans as part of my thesis research. A big part of our research goals is to continue to bridge the gap between practitioners and academics. People doing this work on the ground struggle to integrate often abstract theoretical research while researchers often miss the amazing work that is happening in real-world projects. The EFL is bridging this gap and using research to both inform the design of the EFL and to share our learnings with Labs practitioners in Alberta, across Canada and around the world. I’ll be coming back every few months to give an update on our evaluation strategy so stay tuned. #Culture_Shift #Fellowship #2016 #EFL_Platform #Developmental_Evaluation

Tensions and Pivots: Evaluating the Energy Futures Lab

Accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy system is a pretty big goal. Let’s face it, if we could meet this challenge with a step-by-step approach, we would have solved it by now. How do we keep track? How can we make sure that we are delivering value to the Fellows and contributing to systems change? How do we know when we getting to the “breakthrough results” we are looking for? But we know these change processes are highly complex and very difficult to predict in advance. In...

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If the energy transition is a journey, what are the paths to get there? Our future isn’t in a single resource based economy or a silver bullet solution. Instead, it’s a series of paths leading to the same destination, paved by diverse talents and opportunities. But we need to quickly recognize the tools and resources we have, and looking at the trailblazers in cleantech is a good place to start. To better understand the potential for cleantech in Canada, Rudayna Bahubeshi sat down with EFL Fellows Kipp Horton, President and CEO of WindRiver Power and Meera Nathwani-Crowe, Director at Alberta Clean Technology Industry Alliance, Manager at Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, and Environment and Technology Manager of Heavy Oil at Shell. Heck, if we’re going to be doing all this fantastic stuff in the oil sands to eliminate the environmental impact, it’s all just cleantech. Why can’t we re-frame to become a world leader in cleantech? - Meera Nathwani-Crowe Rudayna: Meera, you stated that Canada has an opportunity to be a seller and not just a buyer of cleantech innovation. Where are the greatest opportunities? Meera: In Canada, oil is currently a source of economic benefits. We can think about how we innovate the oil sands to eliminate the environmental footprint, and increase social benefits. Or we can look at how we create completely different business models out of the oil sands. Heck, if we’re going to be doing all this fantastic stuff in the oil sands to eliminate the environmental impact, it’s all just cleantech. Why can’t we re-frame to become a world leader in cleantech? It’s the new business model. Oil sands is not just exporting or producing bitumen. It’s exporting clean technology. Technology for environmental remediation, revegetation, re-establishment, anything. Kipp: It’s such a fascinating topic. It’s one I struggle with 24-7. I have very conflicting views and emotions around it as a small entrepreneurial company. I’m sort of at the bleeding edge of trying to constantly balance attracting appropriately costed capital, gross capital in my business. Clearly, I understand the concept of higher cost of capital versus risk. I’ll be perfectly frank. It’s very frustrating in the North American context to try to find the right combination of economically priced capital, appropriate time horizon, investment horizon, aligning with these types of assets. This is where I feel Canada’s falling behind. American investors are used to investing in this space. They’re able to harness investment tax credits and production tax credits. Which is a very uneven playing field for Canadian companies trying to play in that space. Then, even beyond that a next level up of awareness and investor awareness is the Europeans. I’ve talked to lots of German, UK investment groups lately who totally get the triple bottom line of social, environmental, and financial returns. On top of that they prioritize those first two, which to be frank 99.9% of Canadian investors actually don’t value. They might say they do. Hopefully that’s changing over time, but as of today the broad majority don’t. I feel that Canadian investor companies are going to fall very far behind here. That’s my concern, and that’s why I’m a advocate for trying to bridge that gap by employing things like green bonds to try to somewhat level that playing field. It’s very challenging. I know Meera, you’re in a corporation that has very different stressors, different challenges. Meera: We have the same financing challenges. In fact my challenges are probably more difficult than the average entrepreneur on the street, because you have access to global banks and you have access to the world capital. As long as you have the relationships to phone people up, you have your choice of finances, where I only have one bank. The bank is Shell. The same pressures and the expectations for return on investment are there. It’s a challenge I think for Shell in the energy transition because the rates of return which a company like Shell, and any large oil and gas company expects, are going to be very difficult to generate during the energy transition. As the energy system electrifies, investors in the energy space are going to have to get more accustomed to being content with utility company type of rate of return. Rudayna: What other barriers do you see? Meera: We need to be very intentional about how we attract and develop talent in Canada. For example, Immigration Canada recognizes we have a shortage of chefs in our country, so on immigration applications, chefs receive the highest profession rating possible. I don’t believe Immigration Canada prioritizes people with expertise in innovation and commercialization in the same way. I think Canadians, have a very good track record for coming up with innovative ideas. Where we don’t seem to make it work is in the commercialization. The maturation of the opportunity to full commercial business opportunity. That is something we have a lot of expertise in in Calgary. I think Calgary is a very entrepreneurial, business-minded city. We’re not necessarily the most innovative thinkers. It’s the matter of how do we get this business mindset developed very strongly in Calgary permeating to our other sectors throughout the country, and transferring that knowledge that acumen. Kipp: I really think Calgary is the perfect city, in the Canadian context, to be able to make improvements and move towards a cleantech future. Perhaps we need to say to ourselves: Yes there’s a lot of forward thinking here, but it was developed in an economic climate, and in a business case that perhaps wasn’t sustainable in the longer term. We do need to draw upon the tech start ups of Vancouver or Waterloo. To meld those two together. Is there a barrier? I’m just asking this out loud. Is there a barrier from that Waterloo person thinking, “Calgary is just an oil and gas town? I don’t want to deal with that.” Does that create a hesitancy for us to take that first step together? I don’t know. Maybe it doesn’t. But of course Calgary’s always branded itself as energy related, and it is. We all know that. Does it have to just be energy? Meera: Exactly. We’re missing out on so much opportunity to just think that way. Rudayna: With some of the barriers we’re talking about– whether the maturation of ideas, moving beyond a more comfortable time in economic prosperity, or attitude shifts– what is the how to? How do you think different players can accelerate these mental shifts? Kipp: Something as simple as the Calgary Economic Development reaching out directly to its counterpart in Vancouver, saying, “Hey let’s cut through all the provincial rivalry to do something together.” Of course everything gets tainted by political views and inter-provincial squabbles. That’s the challenge of Canada. All the diversity is phenomenal. It’s great. But when it comes to collaboration across provinces, cities, and communities it sometimes creates a bit of a barrier too. Meera: Yes, I agree. There’s a little bit of a rivalry between Canadian cities. I don’t necessarily think that rivalry promotes collaboration, but I think there’s definitely a role for other organizations to step in that space. I think also, similar to that is what ACTIA is doing with the VC innovation group and the Ontario, and the Quebec innovation counterpart. They’re creating collaboration and building relationships so we can further facilitate knowledge transfer and other things. #Clean_Technologies #Fellowship #Sustainable_Finance #2016

Cleantech Insights with Meera Nathwani-Crowe & Kipp Horton

If the energy transition is a journey, what are the paths to get there? Our future isn’t in a single resource based economy or a silver bullet solution. Instead, it’s a series of paths leading to the same destination, paved by diverse talents and opportunities. But we need to quickly recognize the tools and resources we have, and looking at the trailblazers in cleantech is a good place to start. To better understand the potential for cleantech in Canada, Rudayna Bahubeshi sat down with EFL...

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In our current energy transition dialogue, we’re used to separate and fragmented conversations from opposing viewpoints. The conversations generally hold a lot of emotion including apprehension, fear and frustration. There isn’t yet a wealth of examples, outside the Energy Futures Lab, that builds trust across the boundary that pins “us” against “them.” Leor Rotchild recently talked with Lliam Hildebrand, the newest Energy Futures Fellow, on how his organization Iron & Earth is creating a critical new conversation that aspires to build a stable future for Alberta workers, their families and their communities. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people are taking notice. We’re so dependent on our carbon-based energy sector and industrial energy sector jobs, and it’s left us very vulnerable. Leor: What is Iron & Earth? Lliam: Iron & Earth is a worker-led non-profit organization committed to catalyzing the renewable energy sector in Canada. Leor: Why did you feel the need to start this organization? Lliam: It actually began on a job site a year ago when oil prices were crashing, unemployment was rising, and my coworkers and I realized very clearly that we needed to begin diversifying our work scope into renewable energy. We’re so dependent on our carbon-based energy sector and industrial energy sector jobs, and it’s left us very vulnerable. My coworkers convinced me to start this. Leor: What’s your professional background exactly? Lliam: I’m a double-ticketed tradesman. I have a red seal in welding and I have a red seal in steel fabrication. I’ve been in the boilermakers’ union for over a decade now and I have also worked in the oil sands for the last six years while going through an undergraduate degree in geography. I’m currently a year into a two-years Masters program at Royal Roads and continue working the oil sands. Leor: What do you hope Iron & Earth will achieve? Lliam: I hope that Iron & Earth can do three things. First, we need to ensure we’re building our workforce capacity in Alberta and Canada to be able to build these renewable energy products. I think we also want to build up the manufacturing capacity so that we can produce renewable energy products and export them to other countries as a commodity. Third, we want to build a community of like-minded coworkers who can feel a sense of shared purpose, a shared vision, and come together to help ensure Canada can thrive in a renewable energy economy. Leor: When you see the debate between climate change and jobs, pipelines or turbines, what are your thoughts about where the universal opportunity lies? How we can all move forward together? Lliam: The commonality is this incredible specialization in industrial manufacturing, especially in the province of Alberta. We have an incredible amount of contractors, developers, and manufacturers who are specialized in very, very large-scale projects. I think we are going to rely on the existing oil sands infrastructure for a number of decades. While the new construction in that sector starts to slow down, we can also find a new commonality in industrial-scale renewable energy development. Leor: What do you think is the role of oil and gas in a sustainable energy future? Lliam: The role of oil and gas in a sustainable energy future is primarily with the companies and contractors, as well as the workers, that are going to be actually developing these renewable energy products and projects. It’s really inspiring to see companies like Suncor and Enbridge start to embrace and move into the forefront as renewable energy developers. Leor: What’s the response been like to Iron & Earth and what you’re saying? Lliam: It’s been overwhelming. It’s been incredible. We just launched a month ago and we are already at over 400 worker-members who are a part of our organization and about 4,000 pledge supporters now. We’ve already had meetings with the Government of Alberta and the federal government. Within a month a lot has happened. Leor: What can you share in terms of the relationship with some of the trades unions and how they are responding to your message? Lliam: Our relationship with the unions is very interesting so far. We actually started out with development of a renewable energy activation program for our union to position themselves within the renewable energy section as a six-phase program looking at the high growth technologies, how we can capture that work scope. Our union leadership was very engaged in conversations with us around that and we learned a lot together and we continue to be in conversations with them, but, unfortunately right now they’re not willing to take that leap. A lot of our members are really hoping our union is going to embrace renewable energy and are pretty terrified about what will happen if we don’t. Leor: Do you have a call to action you’d like to share with people, whether they’re a funder, part of the general public, other union members, or tradespeople? Lliam: I’d encourage people to please sign our pledge and fill out their contact information. We’ll be engaging with everyone that signs the pledge. Please invite any workers you know to become a part of our organization, because our strength is going to come from developing a community of like-minded workers. Together, we’ll push renewable energy development policies and programs forward. #Regional_Pathways #2016 #Workforce_Readiness

Fossil Fuels to Renewables – Oil Sands Workers’ Blueprint for a New Future

In our current energy transition dialogue, we’re used to separate and fragmented conversations from opposing viewpoints. The conversations generally hold a lot of emotion including apprehension, fear and frustration. There isn’t yet a wealth of examples, outside the Energy Futures Lab, that builds trust across the boundary that pins “us” against “them.” Leor Rotchild recently talked with Lliam Hildebrand, the newest Energy Futures Fellow, on how his organization Iron & Earth is creating a...

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In this three-part blog series, Donna provides practical advice on how to begin the sustainability planning discussion in your organization, with your stakeholder communities and with the critics. She will provide tools to accompany each blog post to assist you, as an intrapreneur, in applying the learnings. Building trust is really hard work. Working to understand what sustainability really means to your company, and what sustainability really means to your critics, and then building the trust needed to co-create a feasible shared vision, may be the most challenging work you tackle. Energy companies in Alberta have been in the crosshairs of very organized campaigns demanding an accelerated transition to a carbon-reduced world. The debate has been brutal, and polarizing. For many oil and gas companies, it’s been tempting to hit the mute button on the voices of catastrophe. But deep down, most people know, marginalizing those with whom we disagree isn’t likely to lead to success. It’s time to move beyond the polarizing debate on climate change and sustainability. It may be time to engage with your critics. Your discussions about sustainability with people on the inside of your company and with trusted stakeholders will help you to understand your organization’s strengths and your weak spots. Critics and advocates may not be able to see how you are shoring up performance gaps, within your company, to make sure everyone is working to the same level of commitment on A Measure of Integrity. And, critics may not be able to see how you are working on ways to move up a rung or two on the ladder, to higher sustainability frontiers that include carbon reduction strategies, perhaps through collaboration with partners, your supply chain and host communities. Sustainability has been described as a ‘wicked’ problem—a challenge that is complex, where uncertainty is high, there is debate over values and where solutions are not obvious. When you tell advocates that your company is working on sustainability, some will accept your good intentions. Some advocates will not, and will accuse you of not doing enough. And, there will always be critics who say: “Whatever you do, it’s wrong.” How can you engage with critics, constructively and proactively, on a wicked challenge like sustainability? Let’s start at the beginning. Who is responsible to set sustainability targets for companies? Not everyone will agree, but it’s reasonable to say that as long as companies and organizations aren’t violating laws set by legitimate and responsible governments or regulators, they get to exercise judgment and decide what ‘sustainability’ means for them. (And, of course…live with the consequences of those choices.) Many energy companies have been criticized for their sustainability choices, sometimes by advocacy groups that have developed their own definitions of ‘sustainability’ that they would like to impose. Setting expectations for companies is not uncommon – Amnesty International can appeal to companies to respect universal human rights; Transparency International can benchmark governments on transparency practices; The Natural Step can set out principles for sustainable development. But, publicly shaming companies that don’t operate at an externally prescribed level of positive integrity often shuts down constructive dialogue. Moving a debate with external critics to a dialogue isn’t easy. But, with some critics, this may be your company’s most effective strategy. How can you help your company move a debate to a dialogue? Be positive with coworkers. Talk about ‘how’ to become more sustainable as a company, and as an industry, not ‘if’. Deliberately frame the challenge in language that moves beyond ‘either/or’ dichotomies. Dialogue isn’t about creating a forum to defend your position, looking for evidence that you are right and your critics are wrong. Invite the right people to the table. Think about who is motivated to sustain the polarizing debate, and who is motivated to move the debate to a dialogue. Think about the people within your own organization who should be at a dialogue table with external critics. Cast your net widely to consider other possible participants in a true dialogue—-impacted communities and citizens, thought leaders, government representatives, supply chain or business partners, scientists and researchers, youth leaders? Recommend an independent and qualified facilitator. Is there someone who is trusted by everyone, who can frame the dialogue, assemble diverse groups, set inviolable ground rules, surface values, weigh trade-offs and use group processes to discover common ground? Dialogue involves an iterative cycling between divergence and convergence, which must be astutely navigated and wisely managed. Facilitators are responsible to create a safe space for sharing, which often includes up-front agreement on attribution, transparency of data, sharing of information and use of social media. And, remember, a facilitator is not a sustainability expert—in fact, an effective facilitator will suspend his or her personal points of view. Make sure to set the context for the dialogue. You may want to refer to the mind map you sketched, when thinking about sustainability issues and perspectives in the second blog in this series, to remind yourself of the broader systems involved and the wider context for the criticisms directed at your company. Rather than deepening your company’s textbook knowledge of the technical, legal, political, and economic environments of the sustainability issue being criticized, spend time understanding the worldviews of those affected by your company’s sustainability choices. Try to appreciate how these diverse views at the dialogue table can shape resolution of issues and create new values. Encourage your coworkers to do the same. Use the Measure of Integrity Scorecard. This tool was introduced in the second blog in this series, in your engagement with trusted stakeholders. You can also use this tool to deepen your understanding of the perceptions and expectations of your company’s critics, asking: Where do you see our company’s level of commitment to “sustainability” on this scale? Where would you like to see our company’s level of commitment to “sustainability” on this scale? Set firm boundaries on the dialogue. You need to feel some sense of progress in a dialogue. It’s important to set firm boundaries on a dialogue with critics. For example, this particular dialogue may be about how to improve sustainability within a defined geographic zone or project, not the entire province or industry sector…or this dialogue may be about reduction of methane emissions in your company’s operations in a project. Focus on qualitative data, not just quantitative data. Energy companies are familiar with data—numbers and spreadsheets—to back up decisions. This engagement may require different approaches, beyond standard surveys and tick-box questionnaires. You need qualitative research methods that can help you develop an empathetic understanding of the needs and priorities of external stakeholders. Open-ended questions, deep listening, and a respect for plurality, will be essential. What is deeper listening…even radical listening? Most of us would describe ourselves as good listeners—but the science doesn’t bear this out. To engage in dialogue with your critics, deliberately focus on how you listen. Deeper listening requires us to suspend our opinions and the certainty that lies behind our own opinions, to really hear what others are saying. Value the dialectic. Accept that there is no right answer. It will be important for you to role model deeper listening, not just with your critics, but with your colleagues too. Be innovative in your approach. Talk about how to create the conditions for individuals to contribute as whole persons, not as the talking head of their organization or community reading from position papers and scripts written by public relations experts or lawyers. Encourage participation that levels the ground, requiring that no one act in an official role. Encourage music, auditory and even art as part of the dialogue that needs expression. Figure out ways to authentically capture the learnings. Dialogue mapping is a lot like mind mapping. It’s using images to share what you are hearing. A dialogue map can help you make sense of what you are hearing—help you to create and see the bigger picture. This dialogue map captured the thinking of Albertans on the province’s energy future in the fall of 2015 via ViewpointsAB. Recognize you are out of your comfort zone. You don’t need anyone to tell you this! We are conditioned to one-way dialogue that flows top down or bottom up (for example, sharing suggestions in a complaint box or submitting ideas to an expert panel); this dialogue needs to flow in a back-and-forth motion. Most people are most comfortable engaging within the silos of our own organization. We are generally less comfortable in iterative dialogue across organizations. Make sure you thank your coworkers and others at the dialogue table who step out of their comfort zone– for being courageous; for sharing; for saying what many feel but don’t or couldn’t say. Building trust is really hard work. Working to understand what sustainability really means to your company, and what sustainability really means to your critics, and then building the trust needed to co-create a feasible shared vision, may be the most challenging work you tackle. It’s not easy for anyone to accept criticism of the system within which you have operated for decades—to accept, for example, that hydrocarbons aren’t always the most efficient energy source when carbon is factored into the calculation, or that the short-term-ism of quarterly reporting to shareholders can disrupt sustainability strategies. Always remember what’s at stake. If you can move a debate with a critic to a true dialogue, the upside for your company, over the short and long term, can be material. Likewise, if you fail in this endeavour, or worse, continue to ignore your critics, the downside for your company can be material. Doing nothing is rarely a wise option in a world where advocates have the motivation and capacity to gain public attention and influence decision-makers. #Culture_Shift #2016 #Sustainable_Finance

Donna Kennedy-Glans: Facing your Critics, Constructively and Proactively

In this three-part blog series, Donna provides practical advice on how to begin the sustainability planning discussion in your organization, with your stakeholder communities and with the critics. She will provide tools to accompany each blog post to assist you, as an intrapreneur, in applying the learnings. Building trust is really hard work. Working to understand what sustainability really means to your company, and what sustainability really means to your critics, and then building the...

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Back in February, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park blogged about ‘Our Unfinished Backcasting Business’. He explained how an EFL vision of Alberta’s energy future, in part defined by science-based conditions for a sustainable economy, would be essential to establishing the creative tension that will drive innovation in the lab. How did we get to the point where the fellows could agree on a vision that is at once robust enough to provide direction to their collaborative efforts, inclusive enough for acceptance by the wide range of interests represented in the Lab, and sufficiently ambitious to inspire? It is this ingredient – a motivating, principle-based shared vision of future – that differentiates the Energy Futures Lab (and other Sustainability Transition Labs convened by The Natural Step Canada) from comparable lab initiatives. In February, Chad also described the lukewarm sentiment of the fellows about their initial attempt at defining this vision statement. At the time they deemed it not ambitious enough and too generic. Fast forward to today, and while the business of backcasting is by no means “done”, the vision statement has been articulated to the point that the EFL Fellows have reached general consensus on endorsement and release of the public working draft. The EFL Vision Statement represents a major step forward for the lab and the addition of 11 Innovation Pathways will organize and coordinate the work of the Lab moving forward. How did we get to the point where the fellows could agree on a vision that is at once robust enough to provide direction to their collaborative efforts, inclusive enough for acceptance by the wide range of interests represented in the Lab, and sufficiently ambitious to inspire? _____ Since they first convened last Fall, before the idea of backcasting from principles was ever introduced, the Fellows clearly recognized the need for a shared vision of the energy system they wanted to realize; the energy system of Alberta’s future. Several times the question was asked; ‘What are we trying to accomplish?’ But the work of articulating our vision of success, and the difficult conversations that would entail were put on hold. Instead, the first several meetings focussed on building the relationships that would make a true Fellowship out of a diverse group of leaders. By January, we were ready to take a deep look at our current energy system through the lense of science-based principles for sustainability and identify a number of key challenges to the energy system’s future-fitness. This exercise did not paint a rosy picture, and the investments made early in trust-building returned huge value in the respectful but honest tone of these often uncomfortable discussions. From there we began to ask the question, “What would be the characteristics of an energy system that the future requires of us?” And the Fellows were challenged to imagine what an energy system aligned with conditions for sustainability might look like. The 1st draft vision statement that attempted to combine all of their answers received an average rating of 5.5 out of 10 from the Fellows (the lukewarm sentiment described above). There was clearly much more work to be done. From there a Vision Committee of seven fellows was struck to continue refining the statement based on the input from the full Fellowship. The committee included fellows representing interests as diverse as Suncor, the Pembina Institute, Enbridge and the City of Edmonton, among others. The next version to emerge from the committee included expanded background context, a more fully articulated definition of success, and a series of promising innovation pathways. At separate sessions in Edmonton and Calgary members of the Vision Committee presented the draft Vision Statement and Innovation Pathways back to the rest of the Fellowship. This time after offering further feedback fellows gave it at an overall average rating of 7.75, indicating that they were getting warmer and providing another round of useful feedback for improvement. At the most recent workshop in May the Fellows were presented with yet another a version and invited to raise any remaining objections they might have. Over the course of a few hours these 15 or so objections were worked through and settled, leading ultimately to the version we have now. The working draft shared at this point is deemed a good enough expression of the collective intention of the EFL Fellows that they are prepared to share it with others and to invite feedback. They have also identified a need to create a visual representation of the vision described in the text, as well as to create a short, snappy version. _________ So now what? Now is when the rubber hits the road. Now that we have an idea of where we’re going, we can start heading there. Most of the energy spent in the Lab up to this point has been on groundwork intended to give the Fellows the best chance of success. Now the Fellows are organizing themselves into working groups around Innovation Pathways that will provide a framework for their work together moving forward. The Vision Statement will be reviewed in October, but in the meantime we finally have a shared vision of success for to guide our efforts. Now the fun starts. Now we get to start using it. #Culture_Shift #EFL_Vision

Defining A Successful Transition: How did we arrive at the Vision Statement?

Back in February, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park blogged about ‘ Our Unfinished Backcasting Business ’. He explained how an EFL vision of Alberta’s energy future, in part defined by science-based conditions for a sustainable economy, would be essential to establishing the creative tension that will drive innovation in the lab. How did we get to the point where the fellows could agree on a vision that is at once robust enough to provide direction to their collaborative efforts,...

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The May workshop of the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) Fellowship marked an important milestone, as the EFL pivots into a second phase of greater visibility and expanding impact. Deep, effective collaboration is easier said than done, requiring commonality of vision, shared value, and mutual trust. The pivot is partly a reflection of where we’re at in the Lab process and partly inspired by feedback received from EFL Fellows during a mid-point set of interviews conducted in April. It’s also influenced by the growing support and interest we’re experiencing. Word of the EFL has spread across the province and beyond. Recognizing the unique blend of deep knowledge and diverse voices represented in the EFL Fellowship, we’re getting invitations for consultation and dialogue. The Fellows’ own organizations are asking them questions. People want to know what we’re doing. With the launch of Smart Prosperity, a broad federal framework supported by Canadian leaders representing business, think tanks, labour, Indigenous Peoples, youth, and NGO communities “to map out and accelerate Canada’s transition to a stronger, cleaner economy in the next decade” we find the lab perfectly positioned to be at the forefront of this transition. All of this has shaped the Phase 2 pivot for the EFL, which is marked by the release of the Energy Futures Lab Vision and Innovation Pathways statement (working draft). The pivot will manifest in three main ways: 1. Moving joint action from one-off prototype projects to ongoing working groups Deep, effective collaboration is easier said than done, requiring commonality of vision, shared value, and mutual trust. The lab was designed to give the fellows the best possible chance of success by taking the time to build relationships, develop robust understanding of the system, and actually practice testing ideas through one-off prototypes. We’re now set to move from testing and groundwork to collaborative execution. Reaching a general consensus on our Vision Statement signals readiness to unleash our creativity and energy along a number of Innovation Pathways, which will become the organizing structure for various ongoing working groups in the lab. We believe that the investment we’ve made in articulating these pathways will pay dividends in terms of coordination, collective impact, and the ability to expand the circles of engagement beyond the fellowship. 2. A shift in focus from “fellows in the lab” to “the lab in the world” As described above, the lab up to this point has placed a heavy emphasis on the internal building of the Fellowship from the various leaders that make it up. We’ve been working towards a shared understanding of Alberta’s energy landscape, the principles of the shift that needs to happen, and the social capital to begin working together to make that shift happen. Now we’re ready to bring to the public our vision of the transition and the pathways we believe will get us there. We will turn our collective voice – honed over the past several months– outward to the rest of Alberta and beyond, engaging our organizations and communities in the effort to realize the energy system that the future requires. 3. From pilot to scale with organizational engagement A less visible part of the Lab so far has been an organizational engagement pilot project with Suncor. The organizational engagement stream is designed to support the EFL fellows in engaging with their colleagues to help sensitize their organizations to the ideas and innovations arising in the EFL. Through a series of workshops taking place over the past eight months, a team of managers from across Suncor have undergone a process that in many ways mirrors that of the EFL Fellows. They have worked to better understand Suncor`s place in Alberta’s current energy landscape and to jointly consider strategies to position the company for success in the energy system of the future. Now, based on this work we are developing a structured approach to engaging more organizations in shaping their own energy future and the future of the province. _____ You’re going to be hearing a lot more about the EFL in the coming months as the Fellows begin the real work of collaborating on tangible projects, reaching out to the public to communicate the work they are doing, and as more industry-leading organizations work with the lab to shape future-fit strategies. Just as the EFL is poised to take the next step, business, governments and the public are ready for us. This is what we’ve been building toward, and where the really exciting work begins. #Fellowship #2016 #EFL_Vision #EFL_Platform

Chad Park: The Energy Futures Lab Pivots to Phase II

The May workshop of the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) Fellowship marked an important milestone, as the EFL pivots into a second phase of greater visibility and expanding impact. Deep, effective collaboration is easier said than done, requiring commonality of vision, shared value, and mutual trust. The pivot is partly a reflection of where we’re at in the Lab process and partly inspired by feedback received from EFL Fellows during a mid-point set of interviews conducted in April. It’s also...

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Your own company may be committed to closing some of your performance gaps on sustainability. Your company may even be staking new frontiers in sustainability. But, you can’t solve sustainability challenges acting alone. This is work that requires integration and collaboration. You know that business as usual isn’t possible for an energy company operating in Alberta. You have opened up conversation with people inside your company who, like you, are curious about what sustainability means to your organization in a carbon-reduced world, and together, you have uncovered the undiscussed thinking of people in your own company. You may even be thinking about how to set new sustainability frontiers for your company. Congratulations, you have rescued the frog from the boiling waters. Now, what? Tackling sustainability—and any complex, even wicked problem—cannot be done in a silo. Your own company may be committed to closing some of your performance gaps on sustainability. Your company may even be staking new frontiers in sustainability. But, you can’t solve sustainability challenges acting alone. This is work that requires integration and collaboration. So, who are you going to call? Who do you want to talk to about your company’s sustainability actions and aspirations? Often, energy companies have longstanding relationships with local communities where they operate. And, you may have other trusted stakeholders you would choose. It’s helpful to sketch a rough map of your external stakeholders, like a mind map, to get a sense of all the various issues and points of view that could, hypothetically, be integrated into your sustainability strategy. To get started, let’s use the example of a trusted community to explore how to open up your company’s internal dialogue on sustainability to outside perspectives. An Alberta-based energy company will have lots of communities, inside the province and beyond. In relation to a particular project, an individual community could be described in many ways: An entire region, for example, “the Duvernay” Those within a predetermined geographic radius from drilling operations and gathering pipeline rights of way Selected groups of populations, for example, “First Nations youth along the pipeline right of way” As your starting point, choose a community where you have trusted relationships. Define that community, clearly. Then think about the promises made to this community, by your company, which in some way reflect your company’s commitment to sustainability. Where will you find your company’s promises? Start by looking in your Annual Report, in press releases, in local notices to communities about specific projects. With this list of promises in mind, think about how your company acts on these promises. Your organization’s relationship with a community is likely to have many layers, as individual divisions and departments will engage with a community in different ways: Your company’s Operations department may be very reassuring to local communities when responding to a citizen query about gas flaring. But, the drilling team may not be fully aware of other construction projects happening in the same area, and the cumulative impacts to locals. Your Environment, Health and Safety managers may hire local contractors in a field operation who don’t have the authority to interpret the company’s guidelines, requiring a back-and-forth between head office and the local community that distorts clear communication and delays problem solving. Your Public Relations team may want to keep a low profile on this oil and gas development project, especially with all the angst about pipeline construction in Canada. The lawyers in your Regulatory and Government Relations groups may want to stick to compliance with the laws and contracts–nothing more, nothing less. With this information gathered, let’s go back to A Measure of Integrity. You have a good sense your company’s commitment to “sustainability” . You have talked with others on the inside of your company about how to close performance gaps and maybe even championed the idea of upping your sustainability game. Now it’s time to reach out to people you trust, and invite their perspective on your company’s sustainability promises, actions and aspirations. A companion tool, to help you with this outreach, is A Measure of Integrity Scorecard. Using the scorecard, ask trusted people in your selected community these two questions: Where do you see our company’s level of commitment to “sustainability” on this scale? Where would you like to see our company’s level of commitment to “sustainability” on this scale? Question #1: If your community’s response to the first question shows gaps between your company’s level of commitment to “sustainability” and the community’s perception of your commitments, you may well have a performance gap. For example, if your company makes promises, beyond compliance with laws and rules, at level +4 on A Measure of Integrity, yet citizens in a local community see your company’s promises and actions at a minimum compliance threshold (level +2 on A Measure of Integrity), your company likely has a serious performance gap that needs to be closed. Question #2: If your community’s response to question #2 shows gaps between your commitment to sustainability (for example, at level +4 on A Measure of Integrity) and the community’s expectations (for example, at level +6), you may have opened up the space for a dialogue about what sustainability targets are feasible in relation to a particular project, and you may even be able to explore opportunities for collaboration on achieving these aspirational targets. As you progress these dialogues with trusted stakeholders, make sure you have all the people you need at the table, including your internal people. It may be easy for a company CEO to make a top-down declaratory commitment to ambitious sustainability targets. Walking the talk will require aligned action by your company’s employees. Be on the lookout for your corporate laggards and lightning rods! Too often, one laggard department can tarnish the credibility of your whole company. And sometimes, one over-zealous manager, making unrealizable promises, can confuse or mislead people in your communities. Opening up the space for this conversation with trusted community stakeholders has an added bonus. Many companies invest in host communities, to comply with laws or voluntarily. Use the Community Investment Strategy Tool to talk about how your company fosters sustainability targets through investment in that community: Investments made to comply with regulatory and contractual commitments – for example, paying municipal taxes, funding on site air and water quality monitoring equipment and servicing Voluntary investments in infrastructure upgrades or capacity building initiatives – for example, implementing safety training programs for local citizens, upgrading bridge crossings on the public roads used in operations Philanthropic investments—for example, setting up a wildlife protection fund or scholarships for local youth Take advantage of this opportunity to make sure your company’s community investment strategies, and dollars, are aligned to the community’s sustainability priorities. #Culture_Shift #2016 #Sustainable_Finance

Integrating outside points of view into your company’s sustainability strategy

Your own company may be committed to closing some of your performance gaps on sustainability. Your company may even be staking new frontiers in sustainability. But, you can’t solve sustainability challenges acting alone. This is work that requires integration and collaboration. You know that business as usual isn’t possible for an energy company operating in Alberta. You have opened up conversation with people inside your company who, like you, are curious about what sustainability means to...

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In this three-part blog series, Donna provides practical advice on how to begin the sustainability planning discussion in your organization, with your stakeholder communities and with the critics. She will provide tools to accompany each blog post to assist you, as an intrapreneur, in applying the learnings. As a corporate insider, you are no doubt noticing the radically different market reality. And, you want to support your organization’s targeting and pursuit of new sustainability frontiers and strategy. In the past year I have spoken to thousands of Albertans. There is no denying it. Alberta is midst of a major energy transition that is impacting families and communities. Nowhere is this being felt more than in the province’s boardrooms. Sustainability is, more than ever, a strategic imperative. As a corporate insider, you are no doubt noticing the radically different market reality. And, you want to support your organization’s targeting and pursuit of new sustainability frontiers and strategy. You want to rescue the boiling frog, pulling your organization from the culture and ineffective strategies that puts its future at risk. But how? Let’s start by recognizing you need to build a space for a conversation. The best place to start is connecting with your organization’s insiders— fellow employees and contractors—to explore how people understand your company’s commitment to “sustainability”. Ultimately, you will want to look beyond internal stakeholders, to your supply chain, communities and even critics. But, let’s start with the insiders. For most energy companies in Alberta, “sustainability” is a core value. It may even be included in your corporate strategy. This word, “sustainability”, means a lot of things to a lot of people. In the market chaos we’re experiencing, “sustainability”, to some, may even refer to the very survival of the company itself. With a clearer focus on carbon, Alberta’s companies, more than ever, need people who can take on the challenge of defining “sustainability” in ways that inspire the corporate culture and strategies needed to innovate better ways to develop and use non-renewable energy. You may be one of those people with the motivation and skills to initiate a non-threatening conversation about what “sustainability” means, and could mean, in your company. There is already more than enough market uncertainty and personal anxiety! What we’re suggesting are ways you can safely initiate this discussion, without threatening decision-makers or undermining your co-workers. We want you to be a catalyst for positive change—not a spent enzyme. So, how can you begin? Let’s start by checking out your organization’s values. What does your organization say about “sustainability”, and what does that commitment really mean, today? A Measure of Integrity is a tool I’ve used with great results and I’m recommending, to help you understand how your organization is approaching its commitment to this value of “sustainability”. Take a look at the levels on A Measure of Integrity. Think about your organization’s reasons for committing to “sustainability”, the ways you talk about that value, and your actions: If your organization is motivated to commit to the value of “sustainability” to comply or strictly comply with rules and laws (e.g. pay carbon taxes; comply with federal, provincial and municipal rules about handling water, waste, the environment, etc.), and you spend a lot of time with lawyers and regulators making sure you understand the rules and comply, your organization may be approaching this commitment to “sustainability” at level +1 or +2 of the scale. Or, is your organization focused on honouring the value of “sustainability” beyond compliance with laws and rules, as part of your company’s strategy of acting responsibly and doing no harm? This may mean your organization is committed to act sustainably at level +3 or +4 of the scale. If your organization wants to make a positive social and environmental return on investment, maybe even thinking about your role in a project after the project is completed or considering the impacts for future generations, you may be approaching this undertaking at the highest levels of the scale. You may not be able to exactly pinpoint where your organization’s commitment to “sustainability” lands on A Measure of Integrity. But you can get a pretty good idea. Mac Van Wielingen, founder of ARC Financial Corp., explores how companies look at sustainability in an excellent Conference Board of Canada report: Companies focus on different aspects of sustainability—financial sustainability (through all market cycles); organizational sustainability (through leadership cycles); relational sustainability (with all stakeholders); industry sustainability (with regulators and industry associations); the sustainability of the communities within which we and our employees live, and environmental sustainability. In all of these aspects, Van Wielingen notes that the focus is on sustainability as the opposite of short-term-ism. You may also be able to see gaps—especially gaps between your organization’s commitments to “sustainability” and how your actions reflect that strategic mandate. You may even have ideas about how your organization could close some of those gaps, or ideas about what limits your ability to close the gaps. So, how is your deepened understanding of your organization’s commitment to “sustainability” going to help? With greater acumen, you can listen more deeply, ask more constructive questions and make more discerning choices. You have a better chance of pulling that boiling frog from the churning water! When it’s time to talk to others in your company about your observations, keep it constructive. Who can you seek out to explore your organization’s approach to “sustainability” in more depth? Is there an existing group or committee responsible for managing aspects of “sustainability” performance or reporting? Is “sustainability” part of your over-arching corporate strategy, to describe ‘how’ you implement your mission and vision? How does “sustainability” surface within your own department’s mandate? And take time to define the upside of this “sustainability” tweaking or leaping: Tweaking: What refinements in how your organization’s “sustainability” talk and walk could improve your organization’s reputation, credibility, and resiliency, reduce litigation risk, and restore confidence? Leaping: And, what higher sustainability targets will improve your organization’s competitiveness, access to capital and build trust? If sustainability becomes part of your organization’s strategic imperative, you will have to focus on ‘how’ to walk that talk. Finally, remember, you are someone who is comfortable with change. Most people are not. The majority of people in an organization will wait to see the outcome of your efforts. As the Permeation of Change Model attests, look to people, like yourself, intrapreneurs who are comfortable with change even in the absence of rules, and to others who are interested, but who may need to see some implementation parameters and process before participating. In fact, if you don’t reach out to others during this transition, your company will likely lose fellow change leaders. So you are addressing both needs – having the conversations to shape clearer sustainability commitments and new frontiers for your organization and engaging those who will leave your organization if you don’t have that conversation. As a change leader, sustain yourself with new inspiration and resources. I highly encourage you to follow the developments of the Energy Futures Lab. It is here where leaders from across government, oil and gas, renewables, first nations and non-governmental organizations are grappling with the same challenges you are facing. #Culture_Shift #2016 #Sustainable_Finance

Donna Kennedy-Glans: Rescuing the Boiling Frog

In this three-part blog series, Donna provides practical advice on how to begin the sustainability planning discussion in your organization, with your stakeholder communities and with the critics. She will provide tools to accompany each blog post to assist you, as an intrapreneur, in applying the learnings. As a corporate insider, you are no doubt noticing the radically different market reality. And, you want to support your organization’s targeting and pursuit of new sustainability...

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“You learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation.” – Plato If you look at other human-made systems such as healthcare, agriculture, fishing, clothes manufacturing, mining, transportation, etc. you can see they’re all in transition. In the end, these transitions will rely on sparking the most difficult change of all: human behaviour. It will require a deeper systemic understanding. It was silent in the room and the windows were fogged. Twenty-two slightly bewildered faces stared back at me. We had just played our energy transition role playing game, The Newtonian Shift, for the first time with the leadership team of the Eneco Group, an innovative Dutch energy utility company. After four hours of dynamic game play, the silence gave participants time to make sense of what happened. I hesitatingly opened the conversation: “And…how are you all doing?” “I’m surprised by how much this experience feels like real life in our organization,” one participant shared.” I had the Accounts Manager role, which allowed me to negotiate and make deals with other players. But in the second round, my clients created their own energy for a much lower price and were selling it. They even asked me if I wanted to buy energy from them! It was like the world turned upside down. I feel like this in real life too. With all these industry changes, it’s hard for me to find my place. Another player joined in: “I took the opportunity to play as ‘Boogle’ (aka Google) in the game. In this role, I could really disrupt the energy system and I took that opportunity,” he smiled from ear-to-ear. “I deliberately put people out of business that belong to the same industry as we do in real life.” “It helped me realize that if we don’t start collaborating with these disruptive organizations to change our existing business models, we won’t be around much longer.” This conversation went on for a long time, creating a mutual sense of urgency to address market and resource issues, and fueling a conversation that is still happening in their company. The game quickly prompted new questions, presented different perspectives, and sparked creativity. It created a level of conscious incompetence, highlighting gaps, so organizations could make plans and develop ideas to change patterns, behaviours, and leadership. If the game could have this impact on a company, could it also inspire and influence an entire system? In 2015, Cheryl DePaoli, Alberta Real Estate Foundation ED, connected us with The Energy Futures Lab. The EFL is dedicated to the same principles as we are: new ideas, moving beyond polarization to build empathy, and fostering collaboration. We learned that when it comes to the energy system, Albertans were asking big questions, dealing with great challenges, and needed new methods. Our initial encounter with the EFL was also at the time of the Alberta election, where the NDP won by a landslide, changing the political landscape in the province. We couldn’t ask for better timing. The Eneco Group, commissioned my company, Fresh Forces, to create this game in 2013. They wanted an experience that brought the energy transition closer to the hearts and minds of their 7,000 employees. It did this remarkably well, and became a catalyst for many other energy transition related initiatives within Eneco, co-created by Fresh Forces, including a new performance management program, creative team sessions, an innovation battle, and a leadership development program. The game provided a space to explore a new energy narrative. It seemed changes in the energy sector were only being communicated in media headlines and academic papers, with numbers, graphs, and charts. And, too often, the tone reflected the old human habit of blame and shame: it was always the fault of corporations, consumers, the government, or another particular group. We wanted the game to go beyond a circular debate and pointing fingers. It needed to increase understanding and empathy, acknowledging that successful collaboration requires trust. Gaming is no panacea, but it’s an important tool to access a deeper level of understanding. We played many times with teams and departments within the Eneco, before joining forces with the utility company to bring the game to organizations in Europe and North America, including Alberta with the EFL. Together, we adapted the game to better resemble Alberta’s energy system, including an oil company responsible for tar sand extraction and a First Nations community. It has been played with the Fellows a few times now and is ready to be played within their partner organizations. Fresh Forces and the EFL also facilitated the game during GLOBE 2016 in Vancouver, with a diverse mix of participants working in energy systems across the world. One of the founding fathers of gaming and simulation for organizational change, Richard Duke, wrote a groundbreaking book called: Gaming: the Future’s Language. Having worked intensely with gaming and simulation for over ten years now, I believe this future has arrived. If you look at other human-made systems such as healthcare, agriculture, fishing, clothes manufacturing, mining, transportation, etc. you can see they’re all in transition. In the end, these transitions will rely on sparking the most difficult change of all: human behaviour. It will require a deeper systemic understanding. Collaboration will become increasingly important as we fall back on our tendencies to blame and shame. We will have to embrace that we are all in this together. So we might as well show compassion and work with one another. And beyond the important function gaming and simulation plays in systems change, how cool, liberating, and fun is it to just PLAY with each other? ——- Join the EFL and play The Newtonian Shift on May 26th. #Culture_Shift #The_Newtonian_Shift #2016

Playing with a New Perspective: The Newtonian Shift

“You learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation.” – Plato If you look at other human-made systems such as healthcare, agriculture, fishing, clothes manufacturing, mining, transportation, etc. you can see they’re all in transition. In the end, these transitions will rely on sparking the most difficult change of all: human behaviour. It will require a deeper systemic understanding. It was silent in the room and the windows were fogged. Twenty-two slightly...

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Our Energy Futures Lab Fellows, Convenors, Steering Committee, Advisory Council, Sponsoring Partners and The Natural Step team have deep roots in Alberta. So many of our family, friends, and colleagues are deeply impacted by the wildfires in Fort McMurray and surrounding regions. We are distressed by the number of displaced residents and damage that has been done to the area. And we are heartened by the news that there have not to date been reported injuries. As one Fellow expressed, “The absence of serious injury or fatalities is a true reflection of how safety conscious the city already is. The cooperation and responsiveness of others truly reflects the heart of all Albertans.” Alberta’s character and resilience is evident everyday, but even more so at this moment. We’re inspired by the solidarity, as companies provide shelter and transportation and residents open their homes. The EFL community would like to express its heartfelt sympathies and support to the residents of Fort McMurray and to each other: to everyone whose families, friends and employees are affected and who have expressed their deep concern to us in the last few days. Many of you know that the EFL team was to be hosted in Fort McMurray next week for our next Fellows workshop and learning journey. We had an exciting schedule that involved meeting many people in the community. We are very disappointed that this week’s tragic events mean this will not happen now. Our thoughts and hopes will be with residents in Northern Alberta as we gather in a different location next week. Today, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that the Federal Government will be matching donations to Red Cross Canada for Fort McMurray. Please consider donating here. #Culture_Shift #Regional_Pathways #Fellowship #2016

A Message From The Energy Futures Lab to Fort McMurray

Our Energy Futures Lab Fellows, Convenors, Steering Committee, Advisory Council, Sponsoring Partners and The Natural Step team have deep roots in Alberta. So many of our family, friends, and colleagues are deeply impacted by the wildfires in Fort McMurray and surrounding regions. We are distressed by the number of displaced residents and damage that has been done to the area. And we are heartened by the news that there have not to date been reported injuries. As one Fellow expressed, “The...

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The first time I heard the term “Learning Journey” I had a little trouble taking it seriously. I mean, we’re talking about field trips, right? Well, sort of. If they are field trips, then they’re field trips with a very specific and important function in the lab process. What makes the trip even more timely is the fact that Fort McMurray is reeling from of the fall in oil prices, laying bare aspects of the community that represent seeds of resilience in the face of adversity. Next month the Energy Futures Lab Fellows will travel together to Fort McMurray, the epicenter of oil sands development, a symbol of economic opportunity, and a lightning rod for criticism of the industry. But Fort Mac is a community, and no community is as one-dimensional as the common caricatures of Canada’s most famous, or infamous frontier town. The fellows will soon experience the reality firsthand. Of course, each of the fellows is an expert on some aspect of Alberta’s energy system, and as such, this will not be the first trip for many of them. Whether they’ve been (or in some cases even lived there) or not, each fellow is guaranteed to experience dimensions of Fort McMurray that they haven’t before. In smaller groups, they will see the footprint of the oil sands from the air, tour an oil sands mine and visit Ft McKay to engage with a variety of community members affected in different ways by oil sands development. Others will visit social service organizations including shelters, employment agencies, food bank, and engage in dialogue with Mayor Melissa Blake. Others will tour a local First Nations owned and operated company, engage with the Regional District, the local business community, and the region’s Social Prosperity road map. ______ Organizing a trip for 40 people to do so many different things is a logistical feat. It isn’t cheap and it isn’t easy, so it wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t important. So why are we doing this? What is so important about taking the fellows to Fort McMurray or including learning journeys in the lab process at all? To experience the real effects of transition in communities where it is already underway. In Fort McMurray, the Fellows will gain a better understanding the real-life implications of energy transition in a community that is heavily dependent on oil and gas, and these lessons will apply across Alberta. What makes the trip even more timely is the fact that Fort McMurray is reeling from of the fall in oil prices, laying bare aspects of the community that represent seeds of resilience in the face of adversity. The major shifts in energy systems that we all sense coming have real-life consequences in the lives of actual people living in these communities, and the Fellows will do well to understand these realities as they work to craft a new transition story for Alberta’s energy future. To understand in what ways the current system does not match our desired future. In many ways the Energy Futures Lab approach to learning journeys takes its cue from REOS Partners Social Labs. As pioneers in the field of system-shifting labs, REOS has been using learning journeys for years to “develop a shared, grounded understanding of the system they are trying to influence.” What sets an EFL learning journey apart is that it follows on February’s backcasting workshop where the fellows began articulating a shared vision of their desired energy future for Alberta. This emphasis on understanding the current state of a system in relation to where we want to be in the future is key to developing the creative tension that drives innovation. To build the relationships that move innovation forward. EFL is about bringing leaders from across Alberta’s energy system together to build partnerships and launch initiatives that would never have happened otherwise. But you can’t just put a bunch people who have never met into a room and expect great things. We all know from experience that relationships are key to the best collaborations. Learning journeys play an essential role in building relationships among the fellows by providing shared experiences and opportunities to get to know one another outside of the office. The fellows are finding common ground that may not have been there before. ______ Alberta’s energy system is incredibly complex, and the best way for the Fellows to understand its many dimensions as well as possible is to explore the reality on the ground. Visiting the system is intended to pull these experts out of their habitual thinking patterns and assumptions, leading to insights that couldn’t have happened otherwise. If our goal is to shift a system, it is crucial that our understanding of that system is grounded in experience and the reality faced by people living it, not just theory. #Culture_Shift #Regional_Pathways #Fellowship #2016

Learning journeys: More than just a fancy field trip?

The first time I heard the term “Learning Journey” I had a little trouble taking it seriously. I mean, we’re talking about field trips, right? Well, sort of. If they are field trips, then they’re field trips with a very specific and important function in the lab process. What makes the trip even more timely is the fact that Fort McMurray is reeling from of the fall in oil prices, laying bare aspects of the community that represent seeds of resilience in the face of adversity. Next month the...

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Part Three: Opportunities for Alberta’s Energy Future Following last month’s GLOBE Conference in Vancouver, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park caught up with two members of the Energy Futures Lab Advisory Council, Tzeporah Berman and Toby Heaps, both of whom had important roles at GLOBE and its surrounding events. The following is part three of the three-part discussion and focuses on specific considerations and opportunities for Alberta’s energy future. Part one explored some of the big international developments that Tzeporah and Toby believe are changing the playing field for the global energy system, while part two focused on infrastructure and policy to guide energy transition. Toby Heaps is the CEO and Co-Founder of Corporate Knights, CK Capital and the Council for Clean Capitalism. He spearheaded the first global ranking of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations in 2005, and in 2007 coined the term “clean capitalism.” He sits on the Sustainability Accounting Standards Advisory Board and the University of Toronto’s Environment and Finance Committee. He is also is a member of the Advisory Council for the Energy Futures Lab. Tzeporah Berman BA, MES, LLD (honoris causa) has been designing environmental campaigns and working on environmental policy in Canada and beyond for over twenty years. She is an Adjunct Professor of York University Faculty of Environmental Studies and works as a strategic advisor to a number of First Nations, environmental organizations and philanthropic foundations on climate and energy issues. Tzeporah co-chairs a small oil industry/ENGO problem solving forum in Alberta on oil sands policy and was appointed last year to the BC Government Climate Leadership Team. She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Energy Futures Lab and is the former co-director of Greenpeace International’s Global Climate and Energy Program and Co-founder of ForestEthics. Chad: Both Tzeporah and Toby are recognized leaders on the global stage in their respective areas of expertise – Tzeporah as a prominent environmental activist and Toby as an expert and advocate in the role of capital markets and institutional investors in sustainable development. They each have strong personal ties to Alberta and also bring a global perspective. Whether or not we agree with all of their views, I believe it is important to consider this perspective as the Energy Futures Lab ponders how Alberta will position itself and evolve in the rapidly changing global energy system. Chad: Let’s talk about Alberta. You both know it’s pretty challenging times here and so I guess the first question is, what would be your message in light of everything we’ve just been talking about to Albertans generally and then specifically to the innovators and influencers who make up the EFL fellowship? Tzeporah: One thing I’ve learned over the past few years is to not avoid the hard conversations. It’s when we open up and listen to the other side that we can find our biases and also points of alignment. For the past two years, I’ve co-chaired an informal problem-solving group of 4 CEOs of oil companies and 4 executive directors of environmental groups. We came together a number of times to just try and understand each other. To try and figure out whether or not we could get on the same page. As soon as we started talking, we right away realized that in fact we weren’t even having the same conversations. We were talking past each other entirely. We don’t have all the answers but I think we’re now asking the same questions. We are starting to have the same conversation and part of that was in being willing to face the hard stuff and challenge our own biases. I remember after a particularly hard conversation about climate change, one of the CEOs said, “You know, I didn’t realize that on no other issue do I surround myself with people who agree with me and choose to avoid the conversation.” Similarly, in a conversation with a different CEO, he said to me, “It’s interesting that you have such faith in disruptive technologies and you have no faith in our existing technologies. Fair enough, I realized. Sure, it was those CEOs and ENGO executive directors that stood on the stage and changed the culture of the conversation by supporting the Alberta Climate Plan. Certainly it was a lot of the kudos go to the Andrew Leach Commission and the Notley government, but what’s really interesting is the polls show today that Albertans support the Plan. Alberta is an oil jurisdiction that set one of the highest carbon taxes in the world, and no one has all the answers about what that’s going to look like moving forward. But, there has been a dramatic culture shift in Alberta that has also really changed the conversation with the oil industry globally and for Canada nationally. I think if Alberta hadn’t done what it did, we wouldn’t be having the national climate policy conversations we’re having now. One of the greatest opportunities is for Alberta to become a model for supply side regions in being a climate leader. We can show other resource producing countries how the low carbon transition works. People talk a lot about what’s happening in Norway and while they’ve accomplished a lot, they haven’t addressed how much carbon they’re keeping in the ground. If you compare, our policies now in Alberta to Norway’s policy, they’re pretty strong. Some would say even stronger than what we’re seeing in Norway. I think we have the potential to be a global leader and a model for the rest of the world. I think that’s what we should be. Toby: I think back to in the ’80s when I was growing up in Alberta seeing the bumper stickers, “please God, let there be another oil boom. I promise not to piss it all away next time.” I think that describes what is happening now. A lot of people I went to school with that had great jobs in the oil patch and were making great salaries, but now it’s really tough times. There are tens of thousands and maybe more people that are affected by this. There are no easy answers here. Alberta’s modus operandi for too long has been boom to bust. I think we only have a couple of these booms left so we really had to make the most of them. I know this isn’t comforting to Albertans right now, but we have to say to ourselves, “Okay, we’ve got a few more juicy periods left.” How can we can squeeze this juice and really set ourselves up so have a steady path of upward progress? When we look at best practices, Norway comes up almost ad nauseam. Norway’s 96% powered by hydropower and one in 5 new cars bought there is an electric car. I think one of the most important lessons, is how they’ve taken the wealth they get from offshore oil and they reinvest that in their hydro, wind and transmission of assets that will provide them dividends well into the future. They invest along paths that will remain when they can no longer depend on the same oil wealth. I think Alberta has similar potential with its hydro power. There’s abundant hydropower potential for 11,000 megawatts. Instead of making a dash to gas which some are banking on, there’s a huge opportunity to replace coal with water. Geothermal is also a big opportunity. We hold some drilling technology and expertise if somebody is really going to make the big leap with progress on it. Why not Alberta? Chad: What a great note to end on. I think you’ve both captured the challenges and also the momentum that’s happening right now in Alberta and right across the globe. It’s been great chatting with you both. Thank you. #Culture_Shift #Clean_Technologies #Future_Economy #2016 #Hydro_Power #Geothermal_Energy

Thought Leaders Series | Toby Heaps and Tzeporah Berman Part Three

Part Three: Opportunities for Alberta’s Energy Future Following last month’s GLOBE Conference in Vancouver, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park caught up with two members of the Energy Futures Lab Advisory Council, Tzeporah Berman and Toby Heaps, both of whom had important roles at GLOBE and its surrounding events. The following is part three of the three-part discussion and focuses on specific considerations and opportunities for Alberta’s energy future. Part one explored some of the big...

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Part Two: Updates from GLOBE Conference 2016 Following last month’s GLOBE Conference in Vancouver, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park caught up with two members of the Energy Futures Lab Advisory Council, Tzeporah Berman and Toby Heaps, both of whom had important roles at GLOBE and its surrounding events. The following is part two of the three-part discussion and focuses on infrastructure and policy to guide energy transition. Part one explored some of the big international developments that Tzeporah and Toby believe are changing the playing field for the global energy system, while part three focuses on specific considerations and opportunities for Alberta’s energy future. Toby Heaps is the CEO and Co-Founder of Corporate Knights, CK Capital and the Council for Clean Capitalism. He spearheaded the first global ranking of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations in 2005, and in 2007 coined the term “clean capitalism.” He sits on the Sustainability Accounting Standards Advisory Board and the University of Toronto’s Environment and Finance Committee. He is also is a member of the Advisory Council for the Energy Futures Lab. Tzeporah Berman BA, MES, LLD (honoris causa) has been designing environmental campaigns and working on environmental policy in Canada and beyond for over twenty years. She is an Adjunct Professor of York University Faculty of Environmental Studies and works as a strategic advisor to a number of First Nations, environmental organizations and philanthropic foundations on climate and energy issues. Tzeporah co-chairs a small oil industry/ENGO problem solving forum in Alberta on oil sands policy and was appointed last year to the BC Government Climate Leadership Team. She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Energy Futures Lab and is the former co-director of Greenpeace International’s Global Climate and Energy Program and Co-founder of ForestEthics. Chad: Both Tzeporah and Toby are recognized leaders on the global stage in their respective areas of expertise – Tzeporah as a prominent environmental activist and Toby as an expert and advocate in the role of capital markets and institutional investors in sustainable development. They each have strong personal ties to Alberta and also bring a global perspective. Whether or not we agree with all of their views, I believe it is important to consider this perspective as the Energy Futures Lab ponders how Alberta will position itself and evolve in the rapidly changing global energy system. Chad: Tzeporah, you surprised a lot of people at GLOBE by the exchange you had with Dr. Michael Porter regarding his latest report on the opportunities for natural gas in the energy transition. Tzeporah: Here’s the thing. I agree with some of Dr. Porter’s conclusions. For example, to regulate methane, to set regulations for environmental risks, and to ensure continuous improvement and compliance. The analysis is good but his math is wrong because he doesn’t take the carbon budget into consideration. Dr. Porter’s analysis overlooks the limits needed to secure a safe climate, whether you think that’s 1.5 or 2 degrees. His analysis assumes the market will take care of that. It assumes that we can still burn gas so long as we minimize other environmental impacts. I feel like he’s avoiding the big questions of how much unconventional oil and gas development we can afford and where it should come from. We also talked about his premise that more investment in oil and gas, the unconventional production, helps the development of a low carbon economy because it creates stronger economic conditions. My response to the panel was that gas is replacing coal, but that that’s not good enough anymore. Gas is only a transition fuel if we have a transition plan and we’ve seen a number of studies even from the US Energy Information Agency that show that higher natural gas production can lead to higher emissions levels in the US in the long term because it is displacing renewables. I think it was clear that Dr. Porter’s paper was written before the Clean Power Plan was finalized and before the Supreme Court win on demand response and tax extension. Both of those things are huge game changers because they show that good regulations can speed the transition and we shouldn’t just rely on the market. Toby: Most people would look at the emissions from a gas power plant and a coal power plant and see 50% less emissions from the gas power plant. It seems like it’s only half as problematic. We think gas is buying us some time, but we’re not counting the methane that we’re leaking from fracking. Actually, what we’re doing might be twice as bad in terms of emissions. Gas used to be viewed as essential to getting off coal, but at that time we didn’t have the renewable technologies available today. Certainly, the price of solar was 5 times higher. The price of wind was probably 3 to 4 times higher. Circumstances are different now, and in a lot of jurisdictions we can leap right over gas and go straight to a renewables-dominated grid. Chad: How do we balance these competing considerations? How could we address the need for a carbon budget while determining the role of fossil fuels in the transition? Toby: A growing number of investors are now imposing carbon budgets on themselves and there are jurisdictions integrating carbon budgets into their frameworks for accepting institutional investment. We’re noticing that some of the more sophisticated investors, like the Norwegian Oil Fund, have identified a large group of companies as being particularly vulnerable to the energy transition. They want to understand whether a company fits in a 2-degree world. They want to see credible business plans. There are over a 122 businesses now that have signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative. Suncor might be one of the first energy companies if they move forward with support of the shareholder resolution for a 2-degree business plan. Investors want to see that you are part of the solution, not clinging to the past. This is all going to have to be backed up by capital and R&D expenditures, and by a change in the portfolio on aggressive timelines. Tzeporah: I’ve been having a similar conversation, but in the public policy arena. How do we make decisions about projects, like national pipelines in Canada’s new climate era? There is uncertainty about where we’re headed because we don’t have nation-wide targets. Setting these targets is hard because of the difficulty of defining a given jurisdiction or sector’s fair share of responsibility. How do you decide yes or no on a project? One way is to look at the greenhouse gas emissions of a project, or even the potential expansion of the pool of carbon that it accesses, and use this as a climate test. The second way is to start including use and usefulness analysis in our business analysis. The National Energy Board does this, and it’s done provincially for environmental assessments as well. That business case analysis is currently based on business as usual projections. We’re assessing projects based on whether or not they make sense in a 6-degree warming world. If we actually also do analyses consistent with a 1.5-degree world, then we’ll get different answers. We need to align our infrastructure and our decisions with up-to-date climate targets. #Culture_Shift #Clean_Technologies #Future_Economy #2016 #Sustainable_Finance #Renewable_Natural_Gas

Thought Leaders Series | Toby Heaps and Tzeporah Berman Part Two

Part Two: Updates from GLOBE Conference 2016 Following last month’s GLOBE Conference in Vancouver, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park caught up with two members of the Energy Futures Lab Advisory Council, Tzeporah Berman and Toby Heaps, both of whom had important roles at GLOBE and its surrounding events. The following is part two of the three-part discussion and focuses on infrastructure and policy to guide energy transition. Part one explored some of the big international developments...

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Part One: The Latest International Developments Following last month’s GLOBE Conference in Vancouver, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park caught up with two members of the Energy Futures Lab Advisory Council, Tzeporah Berman and Toby Heaps, both of whom had important roles at GLOBE and its surrounding events. The following is part one of the three-part discussion and focuses on some of the big international developments that Tzeporah and Toby believe are changing the playing field for the global energy system. Part two explores infrastructure and policy to guide energy transition, and part three focuses on specific considerations and opportunities for Alberta’s energy future. Toby Heaps is the CEO and Co-Founder of Corporate Knights, CK Capital and the Council for Clean Capitalism. He spearheaded the first global ranking of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations in 2005, and in 2007 coined the term “clean capitalism.” He sits on the Sustainability Accounting Standards Advisory Board and the University of Toronto’s Environment and Finance Committee. He is also is a member of the Advisory Council for the Energy Futures Lab. Tzeporah Berman BA, MES, LLD (honoris causa) has been designing environmental campaigns and working on environmental policy in Canada and beyond for over twenty years. She is an Adjunct Professor of York University Faculty of Environmental Studies and works as a strategic advisor to a number of First Nations, environmental organizations and philanthropic foundations on climate and energy issues. Tzeporah co-chairs a small oil industry/ENGO problem solving forum in Alberta on oil sands policy and was appointed last year to the BC Government Climate Leadership Team. She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Energy Futures Lab and is the former co-director of Greenpeace International’s Global Climate and Energy Program and Co-founder of ForestEthics. Chad: Both Tzeporah and Toby are recognized leaders on the global stage in their respective areas of expertise – Tzeporah as a prominent environmental activist and Toby as an expert and advocate in the role of capital markets and institutional investors in sustainable development. They each have strong personal ties to Alberta and also bring a global perspective. Whether or not we agree with all of their views, I believe it is important to consider this perspective as the Energy Futures Lab ponders how Alberta will position itself and evolve in the rapidly changing global energy system. Chad: Let’s discuss the major international developments and events in recent months that promise to have a big influence on energy policy both in Canada and globally. Events like Paris, Davos and GLOBE in Vancouver – you two have been a part of these events in one way or another. What do you think is important for people to know coming out of them? Toby: The key thing for people to know from the Paris climate talks is that in an unprecedented move, 195 countries all agreed to usher in a zero net carbon economy sometime this century. That’s a total game changer. At zero net emissions, there’s not a lot of room for burning fossil fuels, unless we have many advances in carbon capture and use technology. I don’t think it has totally sunk in, how unprecedented this is. It was way beyond what I expected to happen. Of course, it’s not legally binding, but these things are more meant to establish new norms and understandings of what the world is going to look like. These agreements send signals to markets to start factoring in new realities and expectations. Tzeporah: I agree. I think we’ve seen a few game changers in the past year. For one, there is now a recognition of the urgency of climate change. This is now mainstream and the era of climate denial is over. The Alberta Climate Plan is a great example of this. It’s the first time that major oil companies stood up and acknowledged that they’re going to have to support significant climate policy, not just generic statements about carbon pricing. We’re seeing a huge shift in the narrative around climate change, which also has its new challenges. I think while the era of climate denial is over, we’re now in the era of “yes, and” or “yes, but.” It’s still a complex conversation and there are still people dragging their feet, but we’re starting to have the same conversation now. We’re starting to ask the right questions together, both in Canada and internationally. I would say the second game changer is the emergence of a serious conversation around a carbon budget. Science is now telling us that two-thirds of remaining fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground if we’re going to keep the world at safe climate levels. Now, the majority of the world’s governments are not just arguing for 2 degrees, but are talking about 1.5 degrees to ensure a climate safe world. Toby: In addition to narrative changes, there is also a really interesting dance going around in terms of market expectations. Most of the market is expecting a slow pulse year round with respect to how we’re going to price emissions and regulate away certain types of things like thermal coal. The market is looking at this and saying, “Okay, it’s going to happen but it’s not going to happen tomorrow and we’ll have some time to adjust.” What changed after Paris was the market saw that this is going to happen in a more pronounced fashion, more quickly than we thought just a month ago. What this is ultimately doing is creating room for companies that want to build a bridge to a new energy future to now announce some pretty bold moves that they wouldn’t have for fear that it would affect their share price. Tzeporah: The bottom line is that these companies in the past were banking on climate policy failure. Reports from several major oil companies, where if you dug into why they were not responding to the carbon bubble analysis and the issues around carbon budget, it was because they simply did not believe that the world would get its act together and that climate policy was a serious threat to developing greater reserves. Now, post-Paris, they are looking at the writing in the wall saying, “Oh, in fact, that wasn’t a very safe bet of ours.” Toby: Probably the most interesting takeaway from Davos wasn’t in the headlines, but it was that the Carbon Tracker was there. The folks that pioneered the notion of the carbon budget are out to popularize it. They held a lunch and a surprise guest showed up at lunch. It was the chairman of one of the largest coal companies in the world, Tony Hayward from Glencore. The fact that he showed up to this lunch is pretty suggestive of how fast this issue has moved. He wouldn’t even have had 10 minutes to listen to those guys before. He’s there now because his investors are starting to tip the stock card. He’s there because he has to be there. #Culture_Shift #Clean_Technologies #Future_Economy #2016 #CCUS #Sustainable_Finance

Thought Leaders Series | Toby Heaps and Tzeporah Berman

Part One: The Latest International Developments Following last month’s GLOBE Conference in Vancouver, Energy Futures Lab Director Chad Park caught up with two members of the Energy Futures Lab Advisory Council, Tzeporah Berman and Toby Heaps, both of whom had important roles at GLOBE and its surrounding events. The following is part one of the three-part discussion and focuses on some of the big international developments that Tzeporah and Toby believe are changing the playing field for the...

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Reflections from our Energy Futures Lab Fellows As a fourth generation Albertan and Manager of CSR & Sustainability at Enbridge, MaryAnn Kenney has a deep understanding of the energy system here and respects “everything that the individuals and companies have built to create the current energy system.” At the same time, she believes “with the information we now have about climate change – and the information we have had for a long time about energy inequity– we can no longer continue operating under the status quo”. MaryAnn is one of 40 influential leaders from across Alberta’s energy system selected for the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) Fellowship. She will join representatives from industry, government, First Nations groups, and NGOs to begin to chart a path for the province towards an energy system characterized by sustainability, resilience, and innovation. “We have a lot going for us,” MaryAnn states on the political will, entrepreneurial spirit, technological expertise, and potential for renewable energy in Alberta. With all of these key ingredients, she believes the province is well positioned to be a leader in energy innovation. Linda Coaty, Enbridge’s Chief Sustainability Officer with Enbridge shares her enthusiasm for MaryAnn’s involvement in the Lab: “MaryAnn is passionate about her home province of Alberta, and about how its various stakeholders can work together to find energy solutions that align with the emerging social, economic and environmental demands of the 21st century. I am certain that she will be an asset to the work at hand, and that her participation will create value for our company and stakeholders.” #Culture_Shift #Fellowship #2016

MaryAnn Kenney: Working Together to Create Innovative Solutions

Reflections from our Energy Futures Lab Fellows As a fourth generation Albertan and Manager of CSR & Sustainability at Enbridge, MaryAnn Kenney has a deep understanding of the energy system here and respects “everything that the individuals and companies have built to create the current energy system.” At the same time, she believes “with the information we now have about climate change – and the information we have had for a long time about energy inequity– we can no longer continue...

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A group of Fellows visits Landmark Group/AcQbuilt’s innovative net-zero home production facility before engaging with founder and CEO Reza Nasseri and the Landmark transition story (Edmonton, Jan 2016) “It’s easy for people to have opinions, and be wildly pro or against something. But Fort McMurray is the literal front line of our national energy industry. It’s the bleeding edge of the boom bust cycle, that’s what this community experiences. I think it’s really important for people, when having a provincial or even national energy system conversation to have a bit of an experience of what it’s actually like up there.” - Sean Collins Can we credibly explore the energy transition in Alberta and not visit Fort McMurray? Next month the EFL Fellows are coming together for their third in-person workshop. This time they are setting aside their busy schedules and journeying to the city that in many ways is a ground zero for the big issues and debates about the province’s energy future. For years, Fort McMurray and the vast oil sands resource surrounding it, have been a focus of criticism nationally and internationally and the poster child for those highlighting Canada’s reputation as a laggard on climate policy, spurring visits from the likes of James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Desmond Tutu. These visits have often intensified the polarization around energy, climate and the future role of these high carbon resources. EFL Fellow Sean Collins, born and raised in Fort McMurray, is looking forward to having his Lab colleagues join him in his hometown next month. “It’s easy for people to have opinions, and be wildly pro or against something. But Fort McMurray is the literal front line of our national energy industry. It’s the bleeding edge of the boom bust cycle, that’s what this community experiences. I think it’s really important for people, when having a provincial or even national energy system conversation to have a bit of an experience of what it’s actually like up there.” We agree. The first day and a half in Fort McMurray will be spent on “Learning Journeys” before the Fellows take the new insights garnered from these explorations to refine their prototypes and high leverage lab initiatives in the 2-day workshop that follows. Learning journeys are an opportunity for the Fellows to broaden and deepen their understanding of the current system, and to engage with a diversity of people and perspectives that they are not regularly exposed to. In Fort McMurray, the EFL Fellows won’t be exposed to ‘canned’ presentations, but rather hosts and visitors engaging in open and honest dialogue. Interacting with real people and real communities ensures that the challenges and complexity we are trying to address in the Lab don’t just exist on paper or in our heads, but that we also have some lived experience of them. These are journeys outside of our day-to-day experiences and narratives, and outside of our own assumptions and paradigms. That may sound exciting or it may sound scary, but we do know this is an essential part of the hard work of collaborating with diverse stakeholders on our most complex challenges. We applaud the Energy Futures Lab Fellows for stepping directly and bravely into this inquiry. They will be wrestling with some of the toughest questions around energy transition from numerous angles – the role of fossil fuels in a low carbon future, the possibilities for resilience in resource dependent communities, and so on. The future of a high carbon resource in a low carbon economy A group of fellows will see the footprint of the oil sands from the air, tour an oil sands mine and visit Ft McKay to engage with a variety of community members affected in different ways by oil sands development. Whether fellows have made countless trips to Fort McMurray or will be visiting for the first time, they will be challenging one another to ‘see with new eyes’, and to avoid letting the experience simply reinforce pre-existing narratives. For example, can the engineers in the group who may tend to be wowed by the engineering marvel of the oil sands view it through the lens of an aboriginal elder as ‘keeper of the land’, or perhaps take the perspective of a future generation? Building community resilience in a time of energy transition Meanwhile, another group of fellows will visit some of the community’s social service organizations – shelters, employment agencies, food banks, and engage in dialogue with Mayor Melissa Blake. Others will tour a local First Nation-owned and operated company, and engage further with the Regional District, the business community and the region’s Social Prosperity road map. They will be wading into debates about whether this is a time to grin and bear it and hope for an oil price rebound, or whether this is a moment to tackle some of the tougher, deeper questions around resilience, transition and our shared future. We expect to uncover many challenges, and also to be inspired by some new ideas for solutions. Undoubtedly there will be numerous lessons that are equally applicable to other towns across Alberta – from Medicine Hat to Grande Prairie, Hanna to Rocky Mountain House. And of course there are things that are unique to Fort McMurray as well. When I asked EFL Fellow Sean Collins what not to miss when we visit his hometown he replied, “Don’t miss the raw emotion of Fort McMurray. It’s different. People swear, people are rough around the edges. And people are super genuine and caring. I find Fort McMurray to be a more unpolished version of the rest of Alberta. To get an accurate portrayal of Fort McMurray, I wouldn’t try to polish the edges too much.” #Culture_Shift #Regional_Pathways #Fellowship #Alberta_Energy_Narrative_Hearts_and_Minds #Community_Resilience #2016

Alison Cretney: Why is the Energy Futures Lab Going to Fort McMurray?

A group of Fellows visits Landmark Group/AcQbuilt’s innovative net-zero home production facility before engaging with founder and CEO Reza Nasseri and the Landmark transition story (Edmonton, Jan 2016) “It’s easy for people to have opinions, and be wildly pro or against something. But Fort McMurray is the literal front line of our national energy industry. It’s the bleeding edge of the boom bust cycle, that’s what this community experiences. I think it’s really important for people, when...

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Diversity of opinions makes us stronger as families, Lab participants and frankly, as a nation. Our unique life experiences and narratives are not what define our separateness but are critical contributions to a more realistic, whole view of a system. With the support of the Alberta Real Estate Foundation we’ll be taking The Newtonian Shift across Alberta by invitation of municipalities, businesses, and other organizations. I have a big family—sixteen aunts and uncles and many, many cousins. Thanks to our grandparents we all seem to share a passion for debate. One of the more heated and reoccurring discussions is on the topic of climate change. This is not surprising given I have generations of family members working in the Alberta oil sands as engineers, marketing executives, and environmental assessments experts. I also have family members who lead environmental organizations and who have been on the front lines of pipeline protests and the divestment movement. My family is not unique. In boardrooms and around kitchen tables across Canada we are grappling with competing narratives. Like most debates, we are generating the kinds of insights needed to drive change, but we are also entrenching the positions that keep systems stuck in old patterns. Enter the Energy Futures Lab (EFL) and the Energy Futures Fellows. These 40 diverse experts are committed to the difficult conversations that are necessary to create breakthrough business models, and ‘future-fit’ policies and practices. As bellwethers and cultural influencers they are willing to share these big conversations with their networks – families, colleagues and communities. The Fellows do not yet agree on the specific innovations needed or the policies that will lead to the energy system of Alberta’s sustainable future, but they do agree that it is vitally important to engage Albertans in the conversation. This is what sets EFL apart from other system changing labs. Traditional labs have been built around a Chatham House Rule approach. Difficult, complex conversations are facilitated among a tight group where individuals experience transformational leadership opportunities, and build mutual trust. This leads to new collaborative approaches and initiatives. However, many past lab participants have found reintegrating into their organizations and businesses more difficult than expected. Their colleagues, families, and communities have not taken the same journey or experienced the same shifts in perspective. They have not been exposed to the same new ideas. What looked promising from inside the lab runs into real world resistance. The EFL is taking a different approach by opening the space to broader conversations. The Lab is guided in part by the Geels multi-level perspective on transitions. Frank Geels, a Dutch researcher, examined how disruptive technology, such as the car, came to shape global culture and massively shift human behaviour. In his seminal work, Geels identified three levels that must be affected in order for system-wide change to occur: Culture – is made up of the dominant paradigms (narratives) and shared mental frames (values) that underlie an entire system. It is culture that shapes goals and definitions of success. Regimes – are the political, economic and social institutions, regulatory frameworks, infrastructures and technologies, (rules of the game) as they exist. Together these pieces make up complex societal and economic systems that tend to be resistant to change. Niches – are protected spaces in which innovators are able to experiment with new technologies and approaches that challenge the dynamics of the current system. They often fail to infiltrate the system because of stabilizing feedback loops between culture and regimes. Adapted from Geels, F et al., (2012) Culture plays an essential role in allowing models that exist at the niche level to scale and take hold in regimes. Shifts at the cultural level can support new innovations from the niche level, enabling and facilitating change in regimes. Most system change processes focus almost exclusively on technological innovation and large-scale policy shifts to integrate and scale innovations. The EFL recognizes that engaged citizens co-create a receptive culture, and that this is essential to the long-term success of new innovations. This is democracy at its best and a model for the world. The EFL design has two strategies to engage Albertans and is adding more as Fellows identify new ways to connect with communities across the province. First, in the Fellows’ second workshop in January, they prioritized a long list of topics to facilitate “big conversations” with the media and other public channels. They also identified other influencers with distinct viewpoints to engage in dialogue over the next six months. Such conversations will continue to roll out over the course of the Lab, and our hope is that it will spark conversation amongst Albertans at home and at work. Secondly, and more directly, is the Energy Futures simulation game, The Newtonian Shift. The game allows individual Albertans with or without direct experience in the energy system to play key decision-making roles in a simulated energy system. The more than 30 roles in the game include oil, gas and renewable energy executives, mayors of cities and rural communities, coal and steel company marketing executives, and key leaders of First Nations and NGOs. In our polarized cultural space the game invites individuals to experience the system from multiple vantage points. It is surprising how real life situations are mirrored in the game, and how an entrenched perspective can dramatically shift when complexity and pressure are applied. Many players state that it is the closest they have come to putting themselves in someone else’s shoes. In the extensive debriefing session following the game the dominant theme is that each player has new insights and empathy for the role they played. And they express an appreciation for how difficult, convoluted and necessary it is to be working together to achieve a thriving, prosperous and sustainable future. We call this the “radical middle”. With new experiences and perspectives we can co-create a space where we build trust and begin to strategize on a desired future where our children and grandchildren can thrive. Diversity of opinions makes us stronger as families, Lab participants and frankly, as a nation. Our unique life experiences and narratives are not what define our separateness but are critical contributions to a more realistic, whole view of a system. I believe my grandparents, who are part of the generation that rolled up the sleeves and built health care and education systems for their communities, would likely say “finally – now get on with it!” References Frank W. Geels, Rene Kemp, Geoff Dudley and Glenn Lyons. (2012). Automobility in Transition? A Socio-Technical Analysis of Sustainable Transport. http://www.sustainabilitytransitions.com/files/Automobility%20in%20Transition%20-%20Content%20+%20Preface%20+%20Introduction.pdf #Culture_Shift #Fellowship #Alberta_Energy_Narrative_Hearts_and_Minds #2016 #The_Newtonian_Shift

Meeting in the Radical Middle: Shaping a New Energy Futures Narrative

Diversity of opinions makes us stronger as families, Lab participants and frankly, as a nation. Our unique life experiences and narratives are not what define our separateness but are critical contributions to a more realistic, whole view of a system. With the support of the Alberta Real Estate Foundation we’ll be taking The Newtonian Shift across Alberta by invitation of municipalities, businesses, and other organizations. I have a big family—sixteen aunts and uncles and many, many cousins....

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The Energy Futures Lab is all about transitioning Alberta’s energy system for a sustainable future. But what do we mean by the “energy system” exactly? Are we talking about oil and gas or renewables or both? What about the electricity generation and transmission infrastructure? All of those are part of the system. But those are talking about physical things, raw materials and their transportation. What about how we actually use energy? There is too much information to make sense of it all at once but by breaking into layers, you can see the detail and see how it all fits together. And that’s what we did for the EFL. After all, no one really wants just energy—they want the services that energy produces like heating, cooling, transportation, food, lighting and the use of whatever device you are reading this blog post with! There are so many different ways to look at the energy system, it can seem like an impossible task. Nonetheless, that was the task I was given: develop a visual representation of the energy system in Alberta and present that to 40 people (the EFL Fellows) that have spent their whole careers working in the energy system—gulp! The approach I took was based on layers. Remember those old books about the human body? The ones with a picture of the body with different layers of transparencies – one layer with bones, the next with veins, the next with the nervous system, etc. There is too much information to make sense of it all at once but by breaking into layers, you can see the detail and see how it all fits together. And that’s what we did for the EFL. The base layer takes a value chain approach, starting with raw materials on the left and working toward energy end-use (including export) on the right. We also split the system into two rows – the top for hydrocarbons, the bottom for thermal (heat) and electrical. While there are many interconnections between these two (for example, coal is burned to generate electricity), the industries and regulatory bodies in Alberta are often separate. While this is a good coverage of the raw materials, it doesn’t leave much room for the human and natural elements. The next layer brings in natural systems and communities showing the relationship of extracting materials from the earth’s crust and putting material back into the biosphere. And of course, communities are in the middle gaining benefits from the energy system (jobs, services, etc.) but also taking on risks and impacts (economic dependence, environmental impact). Economic drivers is another hugely important layer. As we have been made keenly aware recently, Alberta’s energy system does not work in a vacuum. Factors like demand for energy from China, actions taken by Saudi Arabia that impact the price of oil, the strength (or lack thereof) of the Canadian dollar, labour costs and investors from outside Alberta all have massive impacts on the energy system so their impacts need to be shown. At each stage of energy value chain Albertans are innovating. The technological innovation layer maps development such as fracking, cheap solar PV, co-generation of power, smart grids, geothermal and carbon capture and storage. All of these innovations have the potential to shift and disrupt the way we generate, transport, store and use energy. But do they have the ability to shift the whole system? The final layer looks at some of the broader trends that are impacting the energy system and need to be taken into account when looking at system shifts. Here we are talking about big landscape shifts like the United States (our biggest customer) becoming energy-independent by 2020 or the impact of new Provincial and Federal governments. It is also important to map the narratives around energy and their impacts. For example, the narratives of “Canada is an energy superpower” and “Canada is a climate dinosaur” illustrate very different views of how energy fits into our world and our role in developing these resources. And how did the presentation go? Well, there was a LOT of feedback! While everyone in the room had seen different versions of such a map, there were a lot of opinions. Some Fellows wanted to see more explicit inter-connections between components—for example, the link between hydrocarbon extraction and electricity production. Others wanted to further highlight the energy system services rather than the raw materials. And others thought that maybe the whole system should be drawn as a circle rather than a line to emphasize the full life-cycle of energy use. In the end, all of the Fellows agreed this was a useful starting point. The Fellows thought this model will be useful in building awareness on the complexities of the energy system, as a decision making tool and a way to map the work of the EFL to the different layers. There was also interest in making the model interactive so we can ask questions like how much electricity is Alberta using now? What if we changed our electric mix? What if our homes become more efficient users of energy? Following the workshop in Edmonton, work has continued with a small group of Fellows including Matt Beck, Binnu Jeyakumar, Michael Benson and Nathan Maycher. We have been meeting to talk about updates to the model, potential uses and new layers to add. After these updates, we will share the results with the whole EFL team in Fort McMurray in May closing the loop and letting the Fellows take the work forward. So that’s our multi-layer view of the energy system. And this is just the start! We will be continuing to evolve these layers and will keep you posted on that. There has been lots of work done in the past (such as (Jaccard, 2005; Lovins, 1976; Robinson, 1987a; 1987b; Stern, 2014) on visualizing energy systems in general. We have also collected a number of Alberta and Canada-specific visualizations in the Energy System Database. Take a look and be sure to let us know if you see a great way of representing the energy system! References Jaccard, M. (2005). Sustainable Fossil Fuels. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lovins, A. (1976). ENERGY STRATEGY: THE ROAD NOT TAKEN? Foreign Affairs, 55(1), 65–96. Robinson, J. (1987a). Insurmountable opportunities? Canada’s energy efficiency resources. Energy, 12(5), 403–417. http://doi.org/10.1016/0360-5442(87)90109-5 Robinson, J. B. (1987b). An embarrassment of riches: Canada’s energy supply resources. Energy, 12(5), 379–402. http://doi.org/10.1016/0360-5442(87)90108-3 Stern, P. C. (2014). Individual and household interactions with energy systems: Toward integrated understanding. Energy Research & Social Science, 1, 41–48. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2014.03.003 #Culture_Shift #2016

Steve Williams: Mapping the Alberta Energy System

The Energy Futures Lab is all about transitioning Alberta’s energy system for a sustainable future. But what do we mean by the “energy system” exactly? Are we talking about oil and gas or renewables or both? What about the electricity generation and transmission infrastructure? All of those are part of the system. But those are talking about physical things, raw materials and their transportation. What about how we actually use energy? There is too much information to make sense of it all at...

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