Name: Climate Change Solutions Are PSEG CEO Ralph Izzo's Top Priority
Uploaded: 2019-04-18
Duration: 4 min 34 s
Description: Izzo says that modern employees not only want to earn a paycheck, but also make the world a better place.

[ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Ralph, you've been leading the way on climate change and raising awareness of the risks and dangers of not addressing the problem. Why have you taken this on? I've always had a fascination with energy. Was growing up and saw that nations were claiming to go to war over energy security. So that fascination on to the importance of energy then led to a recognition of the important implications of energy on the environment and as research results began coming out decades ago, but more recently with a much faster and more furious pace, I began to realize that this important and fascinating area that I was so interested in, energy, had huge global impacts, as to climate change. And certainly as CEO, your company PSEG, needs to provide electricity to your many, many customers in New Jersey. But do you also believe it's your company's responsibility to society to meet those needs? And also, by not doing any harm to the environment. There's no question. So when when climate change began coming to the forefront more recently, and I'll say within the last decade, it was very clear that my industry was the number one emitter of greenhouse gases that just didn't sit well with me. I want this to not only not be the number one problem, but I wanted us to be the number one solution. So that's why you hear people like myself and others talking about the need to clean up electricity and further electrify the economy. So that we can then help reduce the carbon emissions associated with transportation. Industrial processes, home heating, and a variety of other things. You know, years ago business leaders felt they should stay quiet, or at least remain neutral on many of these social problems of our time. But these days it seems like there's an expectation from your employees, investors, even the public. That business leaders and CEOs like yourself speak up. Do you think that more of leadership is part of your job as CEO? What I know with investors is they are always asking us about ESG scores, right, environment, social and governance. Our employees in particular, some of our Newer employees wanna make sure that they're coming to work and not only earning a paycheck, but they're making the world a better place. Now, one does have to be careful that as CEO you don't think that you become the source of all knowledge on a myriad of issues that may or may not have direct relevance. To your industry. But clearly climate change is right at the heart and soul of everything we do. What of the feedback that you've gotten from your employee's when you speak so passionately about climate change. It's been positive. They like working for a company that's trying to break the mold. That's trying to literally They'll often ask me, Ralph how can we make money by selling less electricity and natural gas. And I walk them through the regulatory changes that we need to accomplish that and they are proud of that. You have giving many speeches on this topic, you've written many upheld article. You're having an impact, are you changing the way people think about this issue? Do you think? It's very difficult for people who. Are involved in concerns about their job, or concerned about more near term issues to get motivated and excited about something that has consequences a years away. Having said that I do think that people are now beginning to realize that, These consequences are irreversible unless we do something today. So we are getting more and more attention being paid to the subject as witnessed by the various reports that have come out lately. Well if you've been chief executive officer of PSUG for 12 years now and when you look back at your predeccors over the companay's 15 15 year history, how do you think, your job as CEO has changed, when it comes to things like addressing social problems dealing with what the public expects from business leaders like you? We know some respects hasn't changed at all. Think about what the PS and PSG stands for, is public service enterprise group. So we were founded by someone who thought that there was a problem in the public transportation systems of Newark and that they were unsafe and needed someone to bring about some improvements in those system. So being mindful of public policy and societal needs has been part of our core make up all along. Now the specifics of change over time but the notion that we have a role to play in public Providing public service is the heart and soul of the company's name. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Climate Change Solutions Are PSEG CEO Ralph Izzo's Top Priority

Leadership

Izzo says that modern employees not only want to earn a paycheck, but also make the world a better place.