Here is your Seven-Bullet Monday
1. A quote I am pondering:
"Continuous recognition is a powerful driver of engagement." - John Doerr
Research into people productivity has proved that highly engaged employees are twice as productive as disengaged employees. Good leaders will spotlight team members whenever possible, ensuring they feel appreciated and their contributions are always noticed.
2. A question I am asking myself:
How does our sustainability team have a stellar Q2 key results-wise?
With the first quarter of the year just about behind us and some significant milestones completed, it is now time to set focus on the second quarter. We have several projects kicking off that are both important for Conuma's bottom line and its long-term sustainability. We need to get out of the starting blocks quickly while fully understanding the finishing line.
3. A book I am reading:
How to Consciously Design Your Ideal Future – Dr Benjamin Hardy
Benjamin Hardy is one of my favourite authors. This book is a compilation of some of his earlier blogs before his books took off. It is nice and short (2.5 hours) and full of gems for designing your ideal future by cultivating highly conscious habits. I have already taken on some of his recommendations and am working on putting them into practice
4. What I am learning
Electrical supply and transmission are constraining mining companies from reducing their emissions
One of our 220-tonne haul trucks consumes roughly the same power as 2,000 homes. So when you multiply this out by the many trucks we have and then add in the shovels, excavators and drills, a massive amount of power is being created and utilized in our mining pits. Many large haul trucks are electric drive, meaning they have electric wheel motors powered by onboard diesel generators. Fully-electric haul trucks will be mass-produced in a few years, and electric shovels, excavators and drills are already commonplace.
Most mining companies have committed to reducing emissions, mainly by purchasing and operating more electrical equipment. That leaves these businesses with the challenge of getting enough electrical power to sites to power this equipment. Unfortunately, this supply will lag behind the development and production of fully electric mining fleets, so it becomes the ultimate constraint. At the same time, taxation on fossil fuels is increasing annually. In British Columba, it is already a very material cost, where for just our company, it will approach $30 million in 2023 or $8 a tonne of product.
While I support taxing fossil fuels to reduce emission levels and drive innovation, we are still caught in the unenviable position of paying higher carbon taxes without the short-term ability to switch to electrical power. Our federal and provincial governments recognize this and are working to accelerate power generation and delivery. Even then, it is still many years in the making, so we must optimize every litre of fuel we burn and explore all potential avenues to reduce the fuel taxation burden.
5. The highlight of my week
I had several highlights this week:
a. The Board of Directors approving our 2022 Sustainability and Climate Change Reports
This week, the Board reviewed and approved our 2022 Sustainability and Climate Change reports. We will be publishing the reports in the next two weeks. For those familiar with our first reports published a year ago, you will find expanded reports this time, with much more information on what we are doing across the sustainability and climate change spectrums.
b. Receiving my first Canadian passport
My Canadian passport arrived this week; woohoo! I have had many travails coming into Canada over the last 14 years, getting work permits and struggling to renew permanent residence cards. I can't wait to return to Canada as a Canadian citizen and be welcomed home.
c. Doing F45 training St Patrick's Day Style
On a lighter note, I joined the F45 challenge to work out in full St Patrick's Day regalia. I kept my fedora on for the entire workout and enjoyed a couple of green shots during and after the session. My green (let's call them compression) socks also stayed up the whole time.
6. Hugh-bits
Why our universe has to keep expanding
Our universe was born with the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago, and it's been expanding ever since. There are thought to be around two hundred billion galaxies, with more than 100 million stars in each galaxy. Maybe you understood this, but I hadn't - the universe needs to keep expanding at a rate higher than gravitational pull. Otherwise, all the celestial bodies would gradually pull towards each other, collide, fuse, and eventually, it all becomes the Big Crunch!
7. My challenge for you for this week
Seek to understand rather than be understood
Coming from Steven Covey's seven habits of highly effective people, please spend time this week more deeply understanding those around you, wholeheartedly listening so they feel understood, valued and affirmed. This will also benefit you because one person listening generally leads to two people listening, and others can learn the habit through our example.
Have a fantastic week
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