Leading People to Renewables

I am often asked by friends outside of my sector, why I love working in renewables? My answer to this question typically changes depending on the week that I have had. Sometimes I reference the variety of people from different backgrounds, disciplines and cultures I work with. Once I receive a coronavirus vaccine, I hope to say that it’s the number of different locations I visit due to the breadth of our wind energy projects around the world.

But one consistent answer, which I’m sure I have in common with many in the renewable energy and green sector, is the opportunity to contribute to making the world a better, greener and more sustainable place.

 This idea is what motivates me each and every day. It is a mission that many people have committed themselves to. Since we started to record data, the numbers of people working in renewable energy has been on the rise in all markets. According to IRENA, the number of countries with offshore wind farms for example now stands at 18, up from 10 a decade ago. And wind energy is the fourth greatest employer in a renewables industry of at least 11.5 million people.

 At some stage in their careers, many of these people recognized that they wanted to contribute to a better future for the climate and generations to come. Their career journeys inspire younger students and graduates towards careers not just in the STEM side of renewables, but also in customer service, marketing, recruitment, policy and other disciplines.

 In my view, this richness of experience, mindset and cultural diversity is key to unlocking the potential of wind. I care about instilling a service mindset in everything we do, and to do so requires with people with different approaches and thinking. By making service an intrinsic part of all our roles, we are able to deliver beyond just ‘getting the job done’. With each project, ‘the job’ is completely different. Based on an operator’s location or size or scale, their specific objectives and needs will vary. It is our role in Service to understand and deliver high quality solutions. A service mindset allows us to get the job done at the same time as prioritizing safety, quality, operational excellence and long-term strategic value in partnership with our customers and partners.

 To be able to do so effectively, requires focusing on corporate culture. Recent research by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that although leaders might think that they are putting in the work to build and improve culture, nearly half of all employees say that leadership is minimally or not at all committed to improving culture. To have the best chance of creating change, it’s my belief that a service mindset must be fostered at all levels of the organization.

 Terms from corporate cultural studies like ‘service mindset’ will have a different meaning to each person depending on where they work and what their role is but in the wind industry it combines two goals; ensuring the needs of the customer are met to the same standard no matter what their requirements are, and ensuring that the level of service we provide escalates alongside improvements in technology and innovation in both product and business models.

 To ensure exponential growth in renewable energy deployment those of us in the industry need to build a positive, proactive, service-focused culture.

 Governments must continue to design policies which encourage investment and commitment to the energy transition.

 Business leaders must examine how they can integrate sustainability into all areas of corporate activity from investment, to product development, to manufacturing and marketing.

 Culture and mindset is everything when it comes to addressing the climate emergency whether you work in government, business or our communities. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you think is required to help accelerate change on climate.

#sustainability #innovation #energy #renewableenergy #energytransition