Medine Duvarci, Senior Manager, Power Solutions and Partnerships
How did you find Better Energy?
Better Energy had me at hello. I remember the first time I saw Better Energy’s website via social media, and it all looked very appealing to me. There was no doubt that this was a values-driven company. I spent a healthy amount of time navigating the site and each element triggered my curiosity.
There were so many vivid pictures of solar power plants. I had never been to a solar plant site and I had never thought of solar in the Danish energy supply. But I wanted to, after seeing all the pictures.
How did you become a part of Better Energy?
The career site made me take the plunge to write an unsolicited application. It talked about challenging the present and shaping the future, and I found this to be inspiring. There was a clear call to action, and this spoke to me as a millennial.
I didn’t write the application to be hired but to join the journey. I want more out of work than just salary, and I felt like I could learn something from this company and make a difference.
It has always been a personal career goal for me to work for companies driven by social values and live out the values with them. I found a great match in Better Energy.
How does being millennial have an impact?
I have had a hard time swallowing millennial as a conceptual term for my generation because there is no one-size-fits-all. But there is no denying there are similarities in my circle of acquaintances.
We are not settling for less when we apply for jobs or take on tasks. We want value for all the money that is spent. It is simply not enough to pay off people with lucrative salaries and material goods. We want our job to be our livelihood and our hobby.
To make that possible, there must be values – the ties that bind. I think a lot of millennials are driven by their values, and for a values-driven company like Better Energy, there are great matches to find out there in the younger generation.
What do you do at Better Energy?
I have worked within areas of Sustainability & Regeneration, but previously also in Communications, where we translate complex information into clear, concise and compelling communications that advance the sustainability cause and climate action.
In reality, my job has been to mobilise companies to educate the public about where their energy comes from. That is a huge task. They might have been misled. Are they really adding new green energy to our power supply? They have no idea – and I had no idea either when I started.
Most of our efforts are embedded with a call to action so that companies, governments, cities and individuals can see what a difference they can make by purchasing new green energy and how we can collaborate on building a sustainable future together.
We go to great lengths at Better Energy to be innovative.
Why is this such a huge task?
The green transition is not only a technical task, but also a difficult communication task. It’s not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be.
Tech companies from the past couple of decades wanting to be disruptive have had it easy in many ways. First, with the dot.com internet boom, and then, with the social media apps. They were able to acquire and mobilise users quickly to bring about change.
Clean tech is different. We are trying to transform major, policy regulated industries like energy, heavy manufacturing and transportation. We need to build relationships inside these industries, understand policy and engage with government, and have the determination to work through the complexity of it all.
How do you make a difference?
Nowadays, big corporates are digging up old concepts out of the bag and grasping at straws to come up with a new concept to support their sustainability schemes. ‘Stakeholder capitalism’ was a popular theory back in the 1950s before it became a buzzword at Davos in 2019. They are onto something positive, for sure. We’re just running out of time.
In the meantime, you have companies like Better Energy who are born social and sustainable. We have green energy to completely change the way society is powered. This is not only motivating but also refreshing. I see my role as pure action. Working for new energy, not a new concept.
We are literally out there sowing seeds for a more sustainable future and putting parties together to accelerate the green transition.
Sowing seeds, literally?
When solar plants are built on land, the soil is free from harmful chemicals for 30+ years. You can sow seeds and build new green habitats that will grow alongside the green energy production.
So, we are literally sowing seeds of change. Nature and renewable energy production can go hand in hand. Again, it all comes down to the choices you make.
Which activity is most interesting to you?
I remember when more than 400 sheep were released on one of our solar plant sites. On social media, we wrote: ‘We are hiring sheep.’ This could raise some eyebrows, but to me it was a matter of fact.
We have to stop making gestures and start making progress. And we have to redefine what progress means.