With the title inspired by the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, my second paper presentation to the Process Technologists Community of Practice COP gathering focused on our NZCE 2050 journey: our story so far, what we've learnt & where we are heading.
In some ways, our journey in the aspiration of decarbonization towards achieving Net Zero Cabon Emissions (NZCE) by 2050 parallels that of Mr. Mandela's: It's going to be a complicated, challenging & long journey!
Here are some key takeaways:
1. Courage to Act - Decarbonization is not easy!
It's going to be tough. Not all decarb efforts necessarily yield instant tangible results. Some might prove to be "huge effort for little gain", therefore not everyone is easily convinced. So be steadfast with the End Goal in mind!
2. Step by step - Though the goal is ambitious, we cannot resort to immediate drastic changes overnight. We need practical implementation: small changes, done consistently.
As James Clear writes in his bestselling book Atomic Habits, "If you can get just 1 percent better each day, you'll end up with results that are nearly 37 times (i.e. 3,700%) better after one year!"
Prove through ONE example that it can be done. Blaze the trail, inspire others, replicate & expand.
3. Be Enterprising: Seize the day! – Be Early Adopters & proactive steps to seize these opportunities, especially as the world moves towards the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. By Upskilling ourselves in this area, it allows us to build niche competencies & unique experiences - hot stuff for the industry!
4. INNOVATE NOW: As our President quoted in a recent Townhall: "insanity is doing the same thing over & over again, expecting different results"
If we stubbornly remain in our own bubble with the defensive "it's not my core job" mentality, it's very unlikely we'll achieve NZCE 2050. We need to challenge norms, leveraging our core skills as engineers to expand our ways of working to do things differently.
The Key is to take inspiration the Built to Last companies as Jim Collins writes in his book: “Try a lot of stuff & Keep What Works”.
5. “Scaffolding” – to tackle new challenges & start the ball ralling, provide “training wheels” support for upskilling & bridge the competency gap. In the book, "Hidden Potential", author Adam Grant coins the term "scaffolding": once the construction is complete, drop the temporary scaffolds.
6. Be Ambassador & Change Agent of GHG - information can be overwhelming out there. When everything seems "important", it's difficult pinpoint which efforts should be prioritized, with the limited resources we have. That's where we can step up: play the role as an advisor to our Leadership Team - to reconcile those complex ideas & distill them into practical, actionable insights.
Been an exciting, enlightening journey so far. Looking forward for a greener future ahead!
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