UWA and me
Seek Wisdom, the University’s motto, has always been a driving force in my life. I departed UWA within months of graduating in pursuit of more opportunities to learn about the world and myself. Wherever I went and lived, I tried to learn about the culture, the people, the history and the language. I tried to augment my knowledge of the sciences with knowledge of economics, philosophy, engineering and the arts.
I was once told that ‘luck is where preparation and opportunity meet’ and I truly believe that is so. Sure, I’ve been 'lucky' in my career but, wow, have I worked and prepared and kept my eyes and mind open to the opportunities that always present.
Help steward the world
I want to help steward the world:
By and large we live our lives for the here and now and we have been doing so for millennia.
In the past, only a very few have had the fortune and/or foresight to look into the future, see what it might bring; and then act as stewards in the present for those who followed.
The here and now are more relevant to most than the when and if! And yet, the when and if, in this day and age, are most important to explore if we are to have a sustainable future. For me, changing behaviours is the very crux of how we go about achieving a sustainable Australia in the new millennium.
World-wide, there has been a growing move towards individualism. To achieve sustainability, there is a need to act collectively. The paradox is that we must act collectively to protect individuality.
Essentially, to make a real difference with environmental protection or social progress, individuals must take responsibility for being part of society. We need to have the collective in our value set.
To change values and attitudes is very difficult. We need to be prodded into behaving differently over an extended period of time before our attitudes slowly but surely change. And those attitudes and behaviours eventually become the manifestation of our new values.
Never give up!
All can contribute
Get into action with whatever your various talents are. Be they in the arts, sciences, law, politics; all can contribute. At different stages of our lives, we have lesser or greater capacity to contribute to change - but contribute we must for the future of our children or your children to be. Hoping ‘she’ll be right' will not work.
Hope by itself can mean sticking to the same old ways and holding fast to the same old laws as long as the results are good in the present. Hope is what we have when we don’t like the look of the clouds on the horizon – we hope the forecast is wrong – we hope there is a silver lining. Hope is what makes us strive for opportunity, but hope is also our excuse for inaction. This is not a time for simply hoping. This is a time for action.
Never give up – pursue impossible – imagine. We can carve a better path than the one we’re on!
Greg Bourne graduated from the University of Western Australian B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry and has worked at the nexus of energy business, energy policy and climate change for over 30 years. With BP Exploration and Production, he lived and worked in the UK, Middle East, USA, Canada, Ireland, Brazil, China, Venezuela and Australia. For two years he was Special Adviser on Energy and Transport to UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He returned to Australia in 1999 as Regional President, BP Australasia and worked with business and governments on the climate change and renewables agendas.
Greg was CEO WWF-Australia (formerly World Wildlife Fund) for six years and later a non-executive director of Carnegie Wave Energy. He is the former Chair of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Greg is a member of the NSW Climate Change Council and is a Councillor for the Climate Council.
A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to the environment and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Western Australia for services to international business.