So what’s your employer doing about PO?

[isenhand]

One thing that worries me about PO is the effect it will have on jobs in the short term. I was at a business meeting with the CEO of the company I work for yesterday. I had a little mention about PO and he said he was worried about the oil but he foresaw no problem for the next 6 month (due to lag in large companies) but after that he wasn?t so sure. He said the company was going to concentrate on holding what it has.

I think due to the nature of the business area that?s as best that can be hoped for but I thought it was good sign that at least the CEO was aware, in some way, of the situation. Anybody else know what there company is doing with regards to PO?

[mikepepler]

Nothing at all, despite them all knowing about what I'm up to with PowerSwitch and why I'm leaving to start an MSc in renewable energy.

We sell cutting-edge software for silicon chip design - it's the kind of thing that needs economic growth to keep working, otherwise why would customers want to buy new software? If there's no demand for new products, they don't need it so much. The company is extremely focused on growth at all costs - it's a good example of how the world got to be where it is now...

oh well... I'm off to study windmills, water turbines and biofuels in a week

[GD]

similar situation here Mike. Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Best of luck on the MSc

[Joe]

I asked the The CEO of my company (telecomms/internet service provider) what he thought the impact of rising energy prices was likely to be and his response was along the lines of:

"There are indeed several adverse economic conditions at the moment, but recessions are a fact of life and it'll work itself out in the end. The imacts of rising energy prices are more remote for us than other sectors so it'll all be OK. Probably. Please stop asking awkward questions, return to your work and focus on delivering the kind of excellent customer service that will allow us to grow even within a static market. I went to LSE you know".

OK, so it isn't a verbatim quote

[isenhand]

Please stop asking awkward questions, return to your work and focus on delivering the kind of excellent customer service that will allow us to grow even within a static market. I went to LSE you know".

oh dear

[RookieJr]

Mike,

You mentioned that your doing an MSc in Renewable Energy. I'm interested in following a similar path so I'm interested in how you got to where you are right now. I've recently started an Open Uni course which would lead to either a Bsc in Geoscience or a Bsc in Environmental Science. It would help me loads to understand what's expected in order to take an MSc in Renewable Energy.

The OU course is pretty good, it means I can continue to work (as a programmer ) whilst I get the degree

To keep the thread on topic, my employers couldn't give a monkey's about Peak Oil. I think that's true of most employers really. If it doesn't make money and threatens the status quo then they really don't want to know

[Totally_Baffled]

Anybody else know what there company is doing with regards to PO?

Apart from reducing staff at the office from 1,500 to 1,000 in the last 12 months, not a lot!!

As for the comment about growth in a static market, that is exactly what my company is expecting(what a bunch of tits )

We recently had a big conference about what we would be doing in the future, and two comments that really cracked me up(amongst many).....

1) 'We are positioned well to benefit from climate change as we can sell more air conditioning units' --- (I almost passed out at this comment as I cannot see the relevance of air conditioning when you are 12 foot under water! )

2) ' These air conditioners are energy efficient, so they are good for the environment too' , my god i thought to myself , are these guys serious?, they do realise how energy hungry these things are? They do realise how electricty is made surely ?(by burning lots of coal , gas , uranium , etc!)

Its kinda depressing , its made me realised my job is about as sustainable as a free bar at a AA convention!! LOL

TB

[genoxy]

Anybody else know what there company is doing with regards to PO?

Not much. I work in one of London's poshest hotels. Sure, we recycle everything from paper to batteries to bottles. Will it make a difference? I think tourism will be first to get hit hardest.

[Joe]

Please stop asking awkward questions, return to your work and focus on delivering the kind of excellent customer service that will allow us to grow even within a static market. I went to LSE you know".

oh dear

I emailed him back to try to continue the debate by highlighting the fact that one of our biggest customers (in the aviation sector) is probably highly sensitive to oil price rises so may seek to apply price pressures, take their operation in-house or look around for cheaper supplier, and that it may be prudent to consider the impact of energy prices on both our customers and suppliers if we intend to stay in business.

The response I got was from some PA telling me that he wasn't going to reply because he'd already given me a detailed response and I'd asked too many questions.

The customer has since announced that they won't be renewing their contract with us...

[isenhand]

I do miss British management !

[Joe]

I may have spoken too soon about my CEO; today's "colleague information pack" included a link to an online questionnaire about reducing energy use and promoting recycling in the office! It had a "suggestions box" that I took full advantage of

[peaky]

Our company can't even get it together to properley fix a hot water tap that seriously leaks. They've 'fixed' it 4 times now, even though our company goals are something like 1) Profit 2) Profit 3) Profit and they ask us for suggestions to reduce costs, they seem unable to see that hot water down the drain is at the very least financially wasteful. I can't image that PO would even get on the radar

[acrowe]

I am currently working in a year placement for a company that provides cables (big cables) for off shore oil development. As i am leaving in July I have started work on a document outlining the issue and what steps the company can take given the likely affects Peak Oil will have.

I hope to give a copy of this to the Managing Director and other Senior managers before i leave. While i believe the company will be better placed to survive (energy sector is still going to boom even if things are bad everywhere else) they will still have to consider the problems for their staff.

Is anyone else looking at doing this kind of approach??

[thorgal]

my company is (as far as I know) doing nothing except relocalizing resources to cheaper places in the world (this is no cynical joke). My former employers (universities) are doing nothing but cutting budgets until they realize that actually, having students around is a waste (this one is a bit cynical).

no my friends, business as usual is not doing much because of the huge concentration of capital certain companies achieved during the last decades. Do you think they will give it up easily ? I don't think so. Small companies will suffer big time if we continue reciting the mantra of perpetual economic growth as we practice now. Small employers will have some hard time keeping the business going (depending on the sector of activity).

[RogerCO]

my (soon to be ex-)company is loosing staff as a result of peak oil - well I'm leaving at the end of this month as I reckon continuing to work inside the M25 is not such a great idea now, and may very well be a positively bad idea within 12 months. Don't want to get locked in when things start to get difficult (and economic circumstances will make leaving difficult long before coercion kicks in).
Today I have a chance of selling up without having to bail out penniless and have landed a job within a short cycle ride of some cornish countryside back home - I might miss the London pay scales but can cut my cloth accordingly. Within two years I reckon I would have been locked in.

This may be a trend that will accelerate over the next couple of years as people, often in quite key positions, wake up to what is going on and decide to get out.

What is the company doing at this stage - business as usual of course - they did ask if I could come back freelance, I explained to my boss's boss that he just didn't get it