Jürgen Beier

Jürgen grew up in South Africa and then emigrated to Canada, but his home environment for almost 30 years has been in energy and resources.

An engineer by training, his work at Deloitte has taken him from gold mines three kilometres underground to copper mines two kilometres above sea level, and to oil and gas production platforms far offshore.

“During that time, I witnessed overwhelming evidence of climate change—which galvanized me into action, from more of a skeptic 10 years ago to a passionate, science-driven environmental campaigner today,” he says.

“Apart from climate change pushing up insurance rates and the cost of doing business, it is creating environmental damage and changes which in many instances are irreversible. The urgency is now—not just to address decarbonization, but to address the resulting problems due to more frequent, intense, and unpredictable fires, floods, droughts, and heat waves.”

“For much of my career, the focus has been on how to make operations run more smoothly. With climate change and the need to reach net-zero, the next frontier is: how do we decarbonize and still keep operations efficient and effective?”

Jürgen works to help clients move beyond rhetoric and greenwashing to develop and implement an approach that makes sustainability a reality.

“My focus is on bridging the gap between oil and gas, power and mining, and what we need to do from an environmental perspective. There’s an economically feasible path to get these industries decarbonized and reduce their impact. We need to motivate, mobilize, and integrate value-chain-based ecospheres to address the challenge holistically and systematically.”

“Emitters can't decarbonize in isolation because they are part of a value chain, whether it’s the electricity value chain, the oil and gas value chain, the beef value chain, or any other.”

Emitters must reach beyond their traditional ecospheres to connect with different players.

“We're seeing a lot more of an impact when there is an orchestration of ecospheres to make this work; for example, bringing the federal government, energy producers, and end consumers of energy products together to generate solutions that work for all parties.”

Reflecting on a decade spent tackling sustainability, Jürgen points to helping a large oil and gas producer develop and implement its decarbonization strategy as a highlight.

“No matter what your strategy is focused on—capital investments, M&A, divestments, operational excellence, customer satisfaction, and so on—in today’s context, it must be set within the broader context of sustainability and decarbonization.”

Decarbonization is a significant challenge on its own but tackling the wider climate change challenge impacts almost every dimension of an organization, including the future of work: the need to retrain skilled workers for new tasks and responsibilities as carbon-intensive activities and technologies are phased out, or replaced by carbon-neutral activities or new technologies. The broader social impact of the energy transition poses a significant challenge for organizations but also represents significant opportunities.

“What makes me so passionate about the impact Deloitte's Centre for Sustainability and Climate Action can have on our clients is we understand the journey and provide end-to-end solutions. For example, we can help develop strategy, identify which projects to invest in and how to finance them, and then implement that strategy and measure its success.”

There is a sound business case for Canadian organizations to decarbonize, but they must make the right choices. That includes ensuring Canada's transition to net-zero is equitable and inclusive.

"We've got massive oil and gas, electricity generation and transmission, and mining resources in Canada. As we transform on this journey to net-zero, we must ensure our workforces and communities remain strong and viable.”

As an example, Jürgen points to the automation of heavy haulage trucks operating in Alberta’s oil sands.

“While that's good news in removing drivers from danger, many of them are First Nations women, so the transition can disproportionately affect this community unless we consider how to transition the skills in a meaningful way, too. It’s just another example of why we must ensure First Nations populations are integral to the net-zero journey and benefit from the massive empowerment opportunities it offers.”