573: Scott White, part 2: An energy CEO considers leading on sustainability
Scott went above and beyond acting on his sustainability commitment to run. He battled covid during training. Did the extra effort bring him down? On the contrary, since he did it for personal, intrinsic motivation based in his connection to the environment, he valued it more.
I read curiosity on his part so shared my personal actions and systemic strategy different than the typical ones to switch from fossil fuels to so-called renewables. I say “so-called” because they require fossil fuels at every stage plus we have to handle their end-of-life pollution. As I see it, polluting less than the most polluting energy sources but still polluting isn’t sustainable, it only buys us more time to become sustainable.
He seemed genuinely interested in my experience improving my life in ways accessible to everyone, especially all Americans, by reducing my polluting behavior. This pattern shocks many so it requires leadership to stick. Listen for yourself, but I hear him considering that leadership role. Why not when it’s based in authentic, intrinsic motivation? In his case, it comes from running outdoors. In your case it will be your rewarding experiences.
You’ll hear him seeing the effort to act more sustainably, but since he just found joy in the effort of running, I think he sees the potential to get that same extra reward from leading on sustainability, even in a company that profits from providing people with power.