Geoff Bennett

My company, Energy & Technical Services is a member of the Climate Leaders Coalition. When I heard about this event, it took my fancy to be involved. We build greenhouse gas software systems. We released our first Software as a Service product in 2003, so were a little bit ahead of the curve. We work with large corporates like Auckland Council, the Defence Force and local government clients.

Momentum is key

I’ve never mentored at an event like this before, so I came with no preconceived notions. Which is probably just as well because they would have been wrong! Mentoring, to me, is about keeping people’s minds open and moving forward. It is amazing what these teams have achieved in such a short period of time. The benefit of such a short time-frame is it forces people to collaborate because there is no time for combativeness or disunity. You’ve got to work together.

This is the moment

The structure has worked really well. There’s been good energy in the room and that’s because we’re all here on the same mission. There’s a real sense of ‘let’s get on with this.’ I’m not fearful, but it is an oh s**t moment. But, we can do it. We can transform if there is the political will and financial backing. It’s frightening to consider what it will cost if we don’t.

There have been standout teams this weekend and I think the impact their solutions could have on our emissions footprint is potentially humongous. It’s tremendously exciting.