As a TEC Canada member, I have the privilege of learning from experts worldwide. My chair, Brenda Gingerich, recently recommended a TEC podcast on leadership and the essential elements of developing and implementing a successful business strategy, featuring special guest Seth Godin.

A key point emerged on The Leadership Standard podcast, hosted by Jamie Mason Cohen and presented by TEC Canada: the energy industry can no longer rely on familiar patterns. Two factors – artificial intelligence(AI) and climate change – are already redefining how organizations plan, invest, and operate. This is not a theoretical discussion; it’s the new baseline for strategic decision-making.

Take Canada, for example. As one of the world’s top oil producers, the country has built an economic foundation on resource extraction. Yet it also thrives in areas like engineering, research, and high-tech services. That dual identity is now meeting a future where renewables, advanced analytics, and climate policies force a reassessment of what comes next.

For business this isn’t about glossy visions – it’s about practical adaptation. The old energy supply model, centered around hydrocarbons, must integrate new considerations: emissions intensity, fuel diversity, digital monitoring, and meet evolving regulatory standards. AI tools are no longer experimental; they’re essential for handling complex data, forecasting demand, and identifying operational efficiencies. Climate change isn’t an abstract concept–it’s already influencing costs, investor expectations, and policy frameworks.

Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur, and teacher, put it: if a strategy ignores AI and climate, it won’t hold up. If it accounts for them, it can thrive. This perspective matters at every level of the organization. Operations teams need reliable data to fine-tune systems. Procurement must consider the long-term viability of energy sources. Sustainability officers must connect environmental performance to future business viability.

In practice, this means building strategies where AI-driven analytics and climate considerations shape everything from equipment upgrades to market entry decisions. It means expecting regulatory frameworks to tighten around carbon emissions and planning accordingly. It means rethinking workforce development to ensure employees have the data skills and sustainability awareness needed to execute these plans.

360 Energy is committed to guiding organizations through these shifts. We’re not interested in clinging to approaches that worked twenty years ago. Instead, we focus on helping our clients prepare for what will define the next twenty: leveraging AI to streamline operations and reduce costs, and confronting climate factors so that every project, purchase, and policy aligns with a lower-carbon, more resilient future.

The energy landscape is changing, and the stakes are high. Companies that want to remain credible and competitive must embrace these twin forces. At 360 Energy, we’re ready to help them do exactly that.