Our energy industry was built with ambition and courage. We overcame seemingly impossible obstacles in some of the harshest environments on the planet to deliver energy security for our country. Greater diversity in our industry is not an impossible obstacle but it is still lacking. We know diverse teams are more innovative and have above average financial performance, so to deliver the increased complexity and greater challenges of the energy transition, now more than ever, we need highly performing diverse teams. To achieve our vision for the future, we must outperform our past.
Vision 2030 is our invitation to the industry to imagine what we could achieve if we accelerate progress towards a fully inclusive and diverse industry and the success that will drive. The Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by UN Member States (including the UK) in 2015, set a 2030 deadline for the achievement of gender equality and within the energy industry. This is the deadline we need to meet to achieve our 2050 Net Zero targets.
The history of our industry is a long success story, from the pioneering days of the North Sea development, engineering breakthroughs and world first achievements, we financed, designed and built a complex energy system onshore and in the hostile environment of the UK waters. We launched jackets from barges, we drilled through complex sands and substrates and we collaborated on export routes and developed a world class supply chain to facilitate it all. Even as oil and gas production levels tail off, we continue to innovate to sustain our assets and produce for longer ensuring we protect our energy supply and maximise our economic recovery.
The energy transition is starting to gain traction however we need to balance the complexities of retaining UK oil and gas production to mitigate the significant imports we currently make, as well as solidly develop our new energy mix. It’s also imperative we continue to show climate leadership, cutting emissions whilst developing a thriving, multifaceted energy industry: diversification is key.
There is no debate that the energy transition is a priority for us as an industry and for our country. The challenges it will throw up today and tomorrow, will be even more complex than the ones we’ve seen in the past.
How much more could we achieve as an industry if we enhanced our capabilities with inclusive highly performing diverse teams?
Imagine an integrated energy industry with key energy hubs delivering supply from multiple UK sources. Imagine an industry where we created so much low-emission energy that we exported, rather than imported, increased our international influence as we developed a more independent energy solutions. Imagine an industry where our work force were thriving with some of the lowest absence rates possible. Imagine an industry where people competed to work here because the work-life balance was second to none, one where we respected parents and carers and recognised that taking caring leave was not a sign of a lack of ambition. Imagine an industry where leaders were measured on how inclusive and diverse their companies were. Imagine an industry that was held up as the world-class example that all others can aspire to.
With an industry wide D&I strategy we can build a skilled and diverse workforce delivering a secure future for everyone.
We know it can be done, we’ve seen greater challenges overcome by our industry. Let’s all commit to Vision 2030, accelerate progress to gender equity and Net Zero and show the same ambition and courage in the future as we have in the past.
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