An op-ed, short for “opposite the editorial page”, is a written prose piece, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication’s editorial board.
I work in oil and gas and have “sustainability” as an important dimension of the work I do. It’s right there in my LinkedIn profile.
Same as many folks in the sector. Doing equally important things for the companies that take sustainability seriously.
To some outside of – and in opposition to – the oil and gas industry, being a “managing director of sustainability” seems incongruent.
To me it’s not. In fact, it makes a whole lot of sense. And I see much good work being done by my firm and others.
But the sustainability landscape is in a profound state of flux and contradiction – much of it the result of Bill C-59, an omnibus piece of legislation that radically changed in June the greenwashing game for all sectors, not just energy.
Will I get “greenhushed” as sectoral opponents emboldened by recent tightened greenwashing provisions in Canada’s Competition Act move to take advantage of relaxed burdens of proof (on them) and more rigorous reverse-onus requirements on those they choose to complain about to the Competition Bureau Canada?
Greenhushing, of course, is a neologism recently back in vogue in a Canadian context. It describes a status or ethos when companies or organizations opt for radio silence instead of communicating their sustainability efforts and aspirations.
Indeed, there’s a “greenhush chill” that prevails over the sector.
Nobody is talking about anything.
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Sustainability professionals ought to feel the big bullseyes being painted on their chests.
Alarmist? Melodramatic? Perhaps. But I watch the landscape closely.
That includes the media platforms that stand in open opposition to the petroleum sector.
Take Canada’s National Observer and a recent interview it published with Stephen Legault, senior manager of Alberta energy transition at Environmental Defence (ED). He’s lamenting the hiring by the Government of Alberta of Patrick McDonald, a former Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) exec, into a climate policy role.
“You’ve got an industry personnel embedded at the center of the decision-making structure on climate change. And what we really need is somebody embedded at the center of the decision-making structure who is looking out for the best interest of all Albertans, not just the oil and gas companies,” Legault.
There are many insights to be drawn from the discussion, but a key one is that organizations like ED will be pushing hard against anyone from industry landing jobs in positions they believe industry experience will negatively influence climate policy or regulatory developments.
It’s not that much of leap before they believe they’re within their rights to argue that no one in oil and gas can use sustainability in their title without some complex form of reverse-onus metric.
So far, my boss has shown no inclination to hush things up. But I also never thought I would see the day when this sector stopped being proud of, and talking about, its accomplishments.
Bill Whitelaw is a long time energy industry analyst and commentator. You can follow his Substack here.
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