Both True: Thank You for Smoking
How climate-centric stakeholders view you
“Of course, because now oil and gas companies have free reign.”
That is the surprising sentiment that I hear again and again from friends, neighbors, and colleagues when I tell them that the current political environment is wreaking havoc on the projects I work on.
“No,” I tell them, “it’s because oil and gas companies require a ton of regulatory approvals and the agencies are in a state of upheaval.”
“Really? I thought now, under Trump 2, oil and gas companies can just do whatever they want, wherever they want.”
Which pretty much sums up how your climate-centric stakeholders think about you. (See the tour I gave you of the climate-centric stakeholder, from “climate warrior” to “climate curious.”) And it’s important for oil and gas leaders to understand this mindset—because it’s central to how and why now is the right time to engage with it! I’ve made the case that you can “Forget About Doing the Right Thing” and instead focus on what’s best for your business—which in fact includes engaging with your climate-hawk and climate-follower stakeholders.
Today we look at a hard truth: what the climate-centric stakeholder’s default view is of the industry. That view hurts—but we need to understand it to take full advantage of The Moment.
Both of these things are true:
I know many wonderful oil and gas leaders who have become enraged by how climate-centric stakeholders view them personally and our industry generally.
Understanding their view of us as a societal phenomenon—not as personal criticism—can allow us to navigate more effectively.
The default view: oil and gas as tobacco
Earlier in my career, I was repeatedly shocked by the vitriol aimed at me for working for the oil and gas industry. When I joined the Colorado Oil & Gas Association as CEO in 2009, the fracking wars were just getting started. As a geologist, environmental scientist, and yogurt-making, cloth-diaper-wielding hippie mama, I truly thought that I would be a compelling advocate for discussing the topic with concerned environmental activists, community parents, regulators, and left-leaning legislators.
Boy was I wrong.
Despite 15 years of environmental activism and science experience, I was immediately thrown into the “tobacco” camp. It’s a popular refrain, comparing oil and gas companies to tobacco companies, with the theme “You knew what you were doing was making us sick, but you kept doing it anyway.” After years of being compared to a spokesperson for tobacco, I became desensitized to the charge. Today, I think it’s worth exploring together with you.
A tangent: It’s not fair.
This work is a lot easier when you come to terms with the unfairness of it all:
Schools teach your children that oil and gas is bad.
Mainstream media write one-sided stories about climate that make you the villain.
Many of your friends assume that your company wants to drill whatever, wherever with no regulatory constraints.
Yup—that’s all true. And not fair.
(And given the current political environment, this wouldn’t be the time to cry a river to your climate-centric friends about how bad you’ve got it.)
Longtime readers know that I advocate for oil and gas companies taking the high road, again and again: Initiate conversations. Be patient. Maintain the effort to keep coming back to the topic.
I’ve now raised two young men, and I am proud that they understand that life isn’t fair. And that this fact doesn’t embitter them or make them lash out. It inspires them to be resilient and succeed anyway.
It’s time we took that advice. Life isn’t fair—and the oil and gas industry has a lot to offer.
You as the climate villain
A nice shortcut for how the world sees you: Check out the trailer for the 2005 movie Thank You for Smoking. When you sit down with a community member or regulator, there is a 50-50 chance that they see you as the oil and gas equivalent of a smooth-talking, story-twisting, wildly successful tobacco lobbyist.
Furthermore, anyone you identify as a credible spokesperson for your company—the local worker, the academic who led the study, the retired elected leader from the district—gets a very short window before they, too, are reclassified. They quickly, like you, will be identified as “a shill for the industry.”
If you’ve had this experience, you know how you react: Your heart rate jumps, your skin gets flushed, you hear a slight ringing in your ears. (You might even feel that way just reading this piece!) We’re human—we’re hardwired to hate being cast as villains. But our fight-or-flight response won’t help us change the dynamic.
In fact, more often than not, getting angry puts us smack dab into another role they’ve cast us as: Muppet Movie villain Tex Richman.
Why you care: 95 percent of climate-centric stakeholders might listen to you.
As I covered in “Climate Warrior or Climate Curious?,” it’s a mistake to treat all climate-centric stakeholders as if they were climate warriors—dogmatic and unmovable. I’ve been doing this work a long time, and most climate-centric stakeholders hold their views lightly. Working with the more persuadable climate hawks and climate followers requires understanding what the world looks like to them … which includes understanding their default assumption that you’re a villain.
So, what’s a good oil and gas villain to do?
Remember that this engagement is strategic. Despite current political and cultural vibes, the direction of energy innovation is toward the energy transition. And the climate hawk and climate follower cohort represents many of the stakeholders you and your company will be partnering with over the coming decades. These people and this dynamic aren’t going away. Take every opportunity now to hone your skills at engaging with them.
Don’t take it personally; take it as a challenge. While it is frustrating to be typecast, this is simply a societal phenomenon. So rather than reacting, consider it a challenge! I will often say to myself, “How long will it take for this person to be interested in what I have to say?” or “In what ways can I surprise this person and still be authentic?” There is little more satisfying than impressing someone who has underestimated or caricatured you.
Learn their love language. Read, watch, and listen to enough climate-centric material that you understand their shorthand. You don’t have to invoke the “climate crisis”—I don’t—to be sensitive to their perspective that this is an emergency! And you can mindfully desensitize yourself to misinformation or attacks masquerading as news. This worldview is everywhere for the climate-centric stakeholder, and to counter it, you must be fluent.
Treat others as you … I am not asking you to lie or pretend people are right who aren’t. I am asking you to indulge people in their preconceptions and biases. Do you wish they would give you the benefit of the doubt? Take in more information before jumping to conclusions? Let’s do the same for our climate-centric stakeholders.
Now what?
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To the occasional smoke break,
Tisha