Meet our co-founders: Marie Jurcevic
Who are you?
I am Marie Jurcevic, Sustainability Lead at ARC Resources and Co-founder of Diversity in Sustainability. I’m a mom, wife, daughter, the youngest of 12 children, and aunt to 35 nieces and nephews. I have six brothers and five sisters. I was born in the Philippines, my family moved to Canada when I was a child. My family moved to Canada for economic reasons and family reunification. For many years, my father worked abroad in order to make enough money to support our family. He worked in the Middle East, Australia and Vietnam in the construction industry. My father had extended contracts that in some cases lasted for several years. I have photos and gifts from my dad’s time abroad but I was fortunate to also have memories with him as he was able to be there for me growing up once we moved to Canada. On the other hand, my brothers and sisters only spent time with my father for the short stints when he went home to the Philippines for his allotted vacation time from his work. I think it’s ironic that he came home to vacation.
When we moved to Canada, it wasn’t necessarily the utopia that my family was perhaps expecting. It was tough as my family had to navigate a new life and continue to deal with economic hardships but in a foreign country. At the time, we literally knew every Filipino in the city as there weren’t many of us. However, as of the last civic census, Tagalog, the official language of the Philippines is the second most commonly spoken language in Calgary. I remember growing up, my family decided to speak to me in English exclusively as they felt it would be easier for me to integrate into Canadian society. There are so many ways that the choice they made for me can be unpacked, it raises issues about the colonized mindset but unfortunately, it’s far too complex to address in this introduction.
I know the decision was well-intentioned, they wanted to give me every possible opportunity and minimize the barriers and challenges I could face. By chance of birth order, I was afforded a lot of opportunities that my siblings didn’t have. For instance, I’m the only one of the 12 children with post secondary education. My siblings opted to work, taking low paying jobs to help my parents make ends meet. They did this by choice and it was definitely an admirable, selfless decision to make.
“I’m inspired by the sacrifices my family made for me - it is what grounds me to this day. It’s also what propelled me to pursue what I believe to be meaningful work. This is my inspiration for choosing a career in sustainability. ”
Why do think diversity in sustainability is important?
Five years ago, I had coffee with a colleague who at the time I didn’t know well but over the years she has become a dear friend. One of the first things she said to me when I told her about myself and my career was, “wow, you’re a unicorn”. Of course, I was curious as to what she meant by that so I asked. She then proceeded to explain to me that I was the first person of colour she has met working in sustainability, not to mention in the oil and gas industry. For additional context, my friend is a Black woman with three degrees in Environmental Engineering, Mathematics and Economics. She started her career working in technical environmental roles but she has transformed her career by working in supply chain management. Based on what she has shared of her experience and my own observations, I know someone “like her” is also uncommon in her field and industry but apparently more common than a person of colour working in sustainability.
What she said caught me off guard and it definitely had me thinking and reflecting on what this all meant. While I was flattered by the positive references and comparison, she was making between me and a mythical being known to be rare and special, the thought troubled me. It had me digging deeper and thinking about what being a unicorn meant in this context. Someone like me working in this field and sector shouldn’t be considered unique, rare or special in any way. I don’t want to be a one-off, exception, fluke or be a token.
“What she said had me questioning why there aren’t more people “like me” working in this field. If people like me are rare what does that mean? From my perspective, it’s disheartening if a values-driven field, dedicated to social and environmental justice and striving to make the world a “better place” isn’t walking the talk on the foundations it was built on as field of practice. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon those of us who were able to break in to use our voice to challenge the status quo and create opportunities to truly live up to what this field is supposed to stand for. Otherwise, it would be hypocritical and I know I wouldn’t be able to authentically do this work. ”
Do you have a mentor? How have they helped you in your career or personal growth?
Yes, I do. My mentor is the former Chief Sustainability Officer at a company I used to work for, actually I’m probably not the only person who would consider her a mentor, as she’s a renowned and highly respected sustainability leader. However, upon further reflection, I would say that she may have started out as mentor but over time she became my sponsor. She has helped my career by challenging me to go outside my comfort zone to explore opportunities that helped broaden and deepen my experience in sustainability. There were many times when she sent me to meetings, events, to lead projects etc. to help build my profile with senior executives and expose me to areas of sustainability that were not in my wheelhouse. I can recall several instances when she was invited to participate in an event or meeting with her peers but she would send me instead. When I had self-doubt and lacked confidence all she would say is to not let their titles intimidate me, because I’m an expert in my field and they can learn from me. I could go on to extol her virtues, as she has many, and I have high regard for her but essentially, she has helped shape my career and how I approach my work. She took the time to invest in me, to share her knowledge, experience and network. Most importantly, she leveraged her position and influence to help me advance in my career.
You’re a sustainability professional working in the energy sector, how do you reconcile working in an industry that is known to have significant social and environmental impacts?
I think that when developed responsibly, the oil and gas industry has a role to play in the energy transition. I fully acknowledge that this is a very polarizing topic and there are varying opinions. However, working in the oil and gas industry and being a sustainability practitioner shouldn’t be mutually exclusive. There are many sustainability professionals working in the energy industry. I chose to practice my work in this sector because I truly believe that I can and have made meaningful contributions to help this sector address critical social and environmental issues. I welcome the dialogue. I think having uncomfortable conversations is an important part of growing and learning, whether it be about contentious sustainability issues or racial injustice and inequity. We need to start being comfortable with being uncomfortable. I believe that the hardest conversations are often the ones that need to be had. These conversations will need to be grounded in respect and it will require us to be to be vulnerable and to recognize that life is an ongoing process of learning and unlearning. The reality is, we’re at different stages on this journey.
There’s a lot of shifts happening in the energy sector right now. What developments are you most excited about?
I'm really excited about the conversations happening in the energy sector about its role in a low-carbon future. There are many companies in the sector that have published TCFD reports and have made net-zero commitments. I'm also seeing a growing number of companies create energy transition teams.
In addition to discussions about a low-carbon future, I'm excited about the cross sector collaborations that are happening. For instance, in 2020, the company that I work for, Seven Generations Energy, or 7G, (which as of April 6, 2021 became part of ARC Resources), entered into a responsible natural gas supply agreement with Énergir, Quebec's main natural gas distributor. The agreement was governed by the EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development. Globally, this was the first transaction executed under the EO100™ framework and establishes a new standard for transparency across the natural gas value chain. This initiative was a collaborative effort between the former 7G, Énergir, Equitable Origin and the Pembina institute. Equitable Origin is a non-profit that partners with business, communities and government to support transparent, equitable, and sustainable development of energy and natural resources. The Pembina Institute is a non-profit think-tank that advocates for strong, effective policies to support Canada's clean energy transition. The agreement and the accompanying transaction, was the result of extensive collaboration between four parties with diverse perspectives and a shared vision to address the concerns of their stakeholders and Indigenous communities. It also has helped to foster further discussions with various stakeholder groups about the role of responsibly developed natural gas in the transition toward a low-carbon economy.
Is there a quote that inspires you?
I’m inspired the proverb, to whom much is given much is required. I believe that I’ve had privileges and opportunities my family didn’t have so I wanted to honour my family’s sacrifices by pursuing work I deem to be important and have a positive impact on society more broadly. Also, as a person of colour I believe I’ve had a successful career in my field and I want to use my experience, network and my voice to support BIPOC in this field in whatever capacity that I can be of service.
Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future, and why?
I consider myself an optimist by nature. So, I’m definitely optimistic about the future. I have full confidence in the resiliency of human beings. I think conversations are shifting and we’re seeing an increase in social and environmental consciousness. Although we’re dealing with many complex issues, I think collaboration between individuals representing diversity in all its forms will foster the social and environmental innovation we need to address many of our societal challenges.