Picture the scene… A poor, lonely Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) manager sits, late into the night, trying to gather carbon emissions data from her supply chain.
Her back is bent under the weight of sustainability regulations and errant suppliers.
‘Why won’t suppliers return their data?’ she wonders, disconsolately. ‘And why the heck does anyone still use a fax machine?’
Her phone lights up. She picks it up, more out of hope than certainty, and clicks the notification on the screen.
‘Welcome to NRG [patent pending]’, the app announces, ‘The energy industry dating service that puts the power back into your relationships!’
A few days previously, Mrs EHS set up her profile – under the name BIgCorp263 – in a desperate attempt to find a tech solution to her reporting woes.
Her profile proclaims:
“I’m looking for someone who takes the environment seriously. Someone who wants to take my hand and dive deep into carbon emissions data. Must be willing to help me form open and honest relationships with my suppliers.”
Her Interests:
“The environment, sustainability reporting, supply chain management, climate change, HSE, transparency act, data analysis, sunsets over the North Sea.”
To her growing excitement on this dark evening, she’s been matched with a tech firm, with the intriguing moniker EnviroReport32.
She clicks on the profile, which announces:
“We’re a sustainability reporting platform that lets you easily request and submit your carbon emissions data. We go all the way to the farthest reaches of your supply chain. So, if you’re into transparency and sustainability, then let’s form a rapport over some reports.”
Interests:
“Carbon emissions, environment, green shift, energy transition, AI, data analysis, carbon reporting, leaving small (carbon) footprints on the beach.”
Her excitement growing Mrs EHS clicks ‘connect’.
‘TING!’ Goes the app. ‘You’ve made a connection! We hope you have a long and fruitful relationship.’
Mrs EHS closes her laptop and sits back. A smile crosses her face. She’s going to enjoy unplugging the fax machine in the morning.
Reality check
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if driving energy industry innovation were that easy?
In theory it should be, based on the laws of supply and demand.
We’re deep in an energy transition that requires a lot of change – and for that change to come fast.
On one side there are the energy firms who have the reason to drive change, presumably the inclination, and certainly the resources.
On the other hand, you have tech firms – ranging from established players, to dynamic startups – brimming with clever solutions.
A match made in heaven, you’d think. If not that, then a match made of necessity.
Dysfunctional relationship
But take this story one tech firm owner told me recently, which lays bare just how far away we are from this dream scenario.
“The biggest challenge for a small tech company, in general, is finding the person who’s responsible for the problem you want to solve,” says our friendly founder.
“Even when you succeed in doing that, frequent reorganisations can mean starting over with someone new,” she adds.
Even if you can find the right person – and keep hold of them – you can still become a victim of the bureaucracy, politics and conflicting demands that dog big firms.
Blame game
But we can’t lay the blame for this solely at the feet of energy firms.
They’re being asked to make unprecedented change at incredible speed, and often don’t know where or how they can deliver that change.
And tech firms often don’t make it easy.
In far too many cases their ability to explain what they do and the benefits they deliver, in plain English, leaves a lot to be desired.
And so, our star-crossed lovers remain as far apart as ever.
Which leads us to my new energy app…
To address this disconnect we’re going to need several things – all of which NRG [patent pending] will seek to deliver:
1. A matchmaking service
This repository will allow both energy firms and tech firms to upload their profiles into a searchable database, and let my advanced algorithm (AI-based, of course) to match them up.
That database will be split into two sections.
The first a place that connects energy firms and tech firms that have a developed product. It’ll be love at first sight.
The second area will be for those wanting to experiment in a more exciting, but risky, environment.
This is where energy firms act as beta customers for early-stage tech firms.
This is crucial because, for a truly diverse and valuable startup ecosystem to thrive, those small firms need investment and sandboxes in which to test their ideas, using real data and test environments.
The payback for the energy firms can be big, in terms of finding solutions for their specific problems (and which suit their environment and processes), and in terms of ownership stakes that can later be sold at a handsome profit.
2. A chaperone service
This second part of the app service might sound very Victorian, but hear me out…
Whenever the energy industry talks about encouraging innovation – and de-risking it – it’s usually done in high-minded, dreamy tones, and in the context of world-changing new platforms, products, and services.
But that ignores a major problem that is much more practical and prosaic.
And that problem is energy firm procurement processes, which can be a hideous nightmare for tech firms.
Those processes aren’t designed with these smaller – often digital – firms in mind.
They’re complex, time-consuming and often make demands that are not just irrelevant, but could be ruinous for the smaller partner if they fulfilled them. (For example, insurance premiums suited to environments where you might get set on fire or fall in the sea, rather than digital data platforms).
Date fail
These are the procurement equivalents of taking someone who is scared of heights BaSE jumping on the first date. It’s a non-starter for all but the most brave.
Much of this complication is born of concerns around health & safety and security so it’s understandable.
Nonetheless, it has to change if we are to build the momentum we need around innovation, to drive the energy transition.
My app’s chaperone service would act as a trusted intermediary, using a framework where energy firms could set parameters to effectively measure the fit of any potential vendors.
Using intermediaries isn’t anything new when it comes to finding approved suppliers.
But with a simplified process and an AI engine – ooh, and maybe blockchain too – going hammer and tongs to ensure every quickly ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed, this would be a different ball game.
Pitching time
If we can find a way to make energy firms and innovators to meet, and find mechanisms to allow them to come together in sweet harmony, it will be transformative for our urgent quest for a sustainable future.
But it’ll require a big change in how we do things right now… For innovation to happen, we are first going to have to think innovatively.
Now, did I mention I’m looking for investment for my app…?
Michael Millar is co-founder and partner in SmplCo, empowering the energy industry to find new ways of working, improve performance, and drive the energy transition, using bespoke digital platforms, products and services.
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