Newsletter: Tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up where you are…

Rob Kirkby: My first business was actually a logging company in a remote part of British Columbia that a younger brother and I started when I was 18. My father was a logger and I grew up in various logging camps out West. But in spite of all this, logging wasn’t in my blood. In fact, I distinguished myself mainly for my lack of mechanical aptitude and my accident proneness when it came to expensive machinery. At 22, I (and others) realized that it was time me to leave logging and put an end to my trail of destruction. From there, my wife and I moved to Calgary and I began studying for my economics degree, which I later developed into an M.A. It was in Calgary, while working for an energy consulting company that specialized in total energy demand modelling, that I first started thinking about total energy management and the seed of the idea for Energy Advantage was planted.

I was still in Calgary when the oil industry crashed in the early 1980s and I decided that it was time to move on. I won a National Energy Board job competition in Ottawa and moved with my young family out to Ontario; just before the Mulroney government came to power and began deregulating the natural gas business. In Ottawa, I came to see the commonalities between the natural gas and electricity industries were greater than the differences and saw that we shouldn’t be treating them differently. Again, the concept of total energy management came to mind.

Once the natural gas industry was deregulated, I saw an opportunity and launched ECNG, which became the largest independent natural gas consulting company in Canada, representing over 1,000 end-use clients with about 10,000 locations. It was very hard work that did pay off in the end, but the first year or so was brutal, with no income and a wife, three young children, and a dog to support. However, ECNG didn’t satisfy my notion of total energy management and I decided in late 1995 to take the entrepreneurial plunge again, which is how Energy Advantage came to be.

Newsletter: Born and raised in the lumberyards of British Colombia, there must be some great stories?

Rob Kirkby: Of course. There are lots of stories from that period that range from the improbable to the truly absurd. Most simply confirm that leaving the practicalities of logging behind was the right decision for me!

Newsletter: As founding CEO of a gas management company, ECNG, that was very successful, why step-down and enter into energy and environmental management, given that climate change and conservation were receiving far less public attention at the time?

Rob Kirkby: Two main reasons. First, my children were growing up and I thought it important that they saw that I was dealing with important issues of our time and ‘peak oil’ and ‘climate change’ fit that bill. Second, as I mentioned, ECNG didn’t allow me to follow through on the idea of total energy management that I was becoming increasingly preoccupied with. My line of work meant that I had already realized that diminishing fossil fuels and global warming were going to become serious issues. And our clients weren’t ready to face the incumbent challenges.

Newsletter: What are some of the common trends and issues that are being dealt with in the private sector with respect to energy and environmental management?

Rob Kirkby: Climate change and diminishing fossil fuels are major issues. Ironically, we are rapidly depleting the very fuels that we have damaged the climate so seriously with. On the upside, declining fossil fuel production will limit our capacity to do further damage. But on the downside, we need to find real affordable ‘green’ alternatives to these fuels so that economies can continue functioning.

Newsletter: Energy and climate change have become buzzwords over the past couple of years. What are the most significant developments that you have noticed in the energy and environmental business since EAI began?

Rob Kirkby: For me the biggest change has been the shift in awareness. When I started out in this industry, climate change was not something many people discussed but now, as you said, it is the phrase on everyone’s lips. However, I would say that what is most shocking is how little has been done to combat climate change or develop alternative fuels. And this is a global phenomenon.

Newsletter: Are there any new energy companies or any new energy technologies that really excite you?

Rob Kirkby: I am a believer that technological innovations will ultimately provide solutions to the peak oil and global warming problems, assuming we are still around. Right now I believe that solar power energy holds the greatest potential on this front. I’ve also been reading quite a lot about nanotechnology, which is another field that seems to promise great things for a sustainable future.

Newsletter: You’re an economist by background. Can you give us some predictions on the future of energy prices?

Rob Kirkby: When I was working in Calgary in the early 1980s, I was involved in developing energy price forecasts for the next fifteen years. The lesson I learned from this is that, if personal credibility is important to you, long term forecasting is something you should engage in towards the end of your career rather than at the beginning. The whole experience gave me a true appreciation for the difficulties of forecasting and the importance of humility for the forecaster. Nevertheless, I will go out on a limb and say future energy prices are likely to be determined by the outcome of a footrace between the rate at which finite fossil fuels are depleted and the rate at which new technologies are developed to ease the development of remaining fossil fuels and of alternatives to these fuels. Over the short to intermediate term, the outcome is uncertain, although I believe much higher and more volatile energy prices are quite possible. Over the longer term, I am more optimistic and believe that technology will prevail. However, as an economist, I am very aware of Lord Maynard Keynes famous observation that ‘in the long term we are all dead’.

Newsletter: In 5 years time, how will climate change and energy change the modern day business or government, what will they look like… give us a vision of the future?

Rob Kirkby: Green. Businesses and governments have no option but to get progressively greener.

Newsletter: What about in 25 years? Is it a bright or gloomy prediction?

Rob Kirkby: As I said, I am reluctant to make sweeping predictions. It’s hard to be outright optimistic given the current seeming inability of our leaders to address the climate change and peak oil issues in a timely manner. On the other hand, I have great faith in human ingenuity and believe that, if our leaders can find a way to concentrate our efforts in a timely manner, we will find a solution to these issues before they become unsolvable.

Newsletter: There is a lot of money being thrown around in clean tech, energy and environmental, and a lot of entrepreneurs entering this arena, how will Energy Advantage compete and stay ahead?

Rob Kirkby: Our commitment is to stay ahead of our clients so that they can make the best energy and environmental decisions possible. And we’ll do this with a lot of smart people and hard work. We will not be developing alternative fuels and technologies but we’ll certainly know who is.

Newsletter: If I were a CEO, what would you say to me… why should I care about climate change and energy management?

Rob Kirkby: You should care about climate change because investors, employees, customers, and the general pubic do. Without them, you don’t have a company. You should care about energy management because this is the most cost effective way for your organization to address climate change and thereby satisfy your most important stakeholders.