Calgary’s Energy Disruptors Unite Conference Fuels New Thinking in Traditional Business Models

Canada is a big country. Our impact on the environment doesn’t have to be. Collaboration between government, universities, and industries fuels Canada’s 4th place ranking on the Global Clean Tech Innovation Index, where it has a firm hold in the Global Clean Tech 100 list for work being done to reduce carbon and to significantly scale back energy consumption. It stands to reason, then, that the world’s most influential and innovative business disruptors meet here to help redefine the future of oil and gas energy through technological advancements. The result: Energy Disruptors Unite, a two-day conference held in May 2018 headed up by Graeme Edge, a founder of Calgary-based energy executive search firm McLaren Dion Edge.

The conference aimed to embrace the concept of disruption providing Calgary oil and gas professionals a chance to connect with the brains behind the ideas that threaten traditional business models. “At the heart of this, we’re trying to find some common ground between these different groups,” Edge told The Star in advance of the conference. “It’s the oil and gas community. It’s the renewable energy and clean-tech crowd. It’s the larger technology companies and the policy-makers as well.”

High Level Discussions about Low Levels of Carbon

With a diverse speaker lineup that featured Sir Richard Branson, Suncor Energy President and CEO Steve Williams, Electric Vehicles Outlook Founder Roger Atkins, and a range of other perspectives, the program presented the energy industry in a new light.

“Energy Disruptors Unite did exactly what a conference should do: Challenge assumptions and create an environment where attendees can feel excited about the future,” Dave Sclanders, executive director at Meetings + Conventions Calgary, was recently quoted. “As the world looks ahead to new energy sources, our community is helping lead the way forward.”

Calgary Feels the Energy of Clean Tech and Natural Resources Conferences

Energy Disruptors Unite won’t be the only event that brings the energy sector together in Calgary. In 2018, the city’s packed calendar includes the Global Petroleum Show, the International Pipeline Conference, Canadian Wind Energy Association, and Solar Canada. As attendees from around the world arrive in Alberta, they’ll encounter Calgary’s greatest natural resource: its citizens. “We’ve got a lot of talented people,” Edge said, “and always at the heart of any change is people.”

The second Energy Disruptors Unite conference will be held at Calgary’s Stampede Park, September 18 – 19, 2019. More information and tickets can be found at: energydisruptors.com.

Editor’s note: a longer version of this article appears here