Who We Are

OUR STORY

Iron & Earth formed around the lunchroom tables of the Canadian oilsands during an oil price crash which resulted in over 100,000 oilpatch employees losing their jobs between 2015 and 2017. We realized that our skills were transferable to the renewable energy industry and recognized the urgency of diversifying into these technologies. So, in Spring 2016 we launched Iron & Earth to create a better future for ourselves, our co-workers, and the planet. Since then we have built a base of over 1000 fossil fuel industry worker members and have carried out a wide range of innovative initiatives.

OUR PURPOSE & CORE INITIATIVES

Iron & Earth is a worker-led organization whose mission is to empower fossil fuel industry and Indigenous workers to build and implement climate solutions. Our overarching intention is to help create an environmentally and socially prosperous planet. Our vision is that fossil fuel industry and Indigenous workers will play a leading role in building the policy and infrastructure required to reach global climate targets. Our top-level goal is to help ensure a prosperous transition towards global carbon neutrality by 2050. 

We carry out our unique purpose through national advocacy campaigns, upskilling programs, climate mitigation projects, technology platforms and community building events.

OUR PILLARS (GOALS)

Building a community for workers & supporters 

We help create community by bringing members and supporters together to carry out high-impact initiatives. This community is important for our members as they navigate the complexities of diversifying their careers. These relationships and networks create a lasting foundation for positive change towards a shared vision. 

Building support for a prosperous transition

We help build political, industry and public support for an environmentally and socially prosperous transition towards climate neutrality. This support translates into the policies and programs that our members and partners need to thrive during this transition.  We accomplish this through our campaigns that provide our members with a platform to have their voice and policy priorities heard. 

Developing careers in climate solutions

We provide road maps, training, resources and networks that fossil fuel industry and Indigenous workers require to establish careers in climate solutions. We do this through our rapid upskilling programs, career development support, and our Climate Career Portal. 

Building scalable climate solutions 

We build scalable climate solutions through our sustainable energy projects to provide an opportunity for our members to gain hands-on experiences and directly contribute to tangible emissions reductions.

Building a community for workers & supporters 

We help create community by bringing members and supporters together to carry out high-impact initiatives. This community is important for our members as they navigate the complexities of diversifying their careers. These relationships and networks create a lasting foundation for positive change towards a shared vision. 

Building support for a prosperous transition

We help build political, industry and public support for an environmentally and socially prosperous transition towards climate neutrality. This support translates into the policies and programs that our members and partners need to thrive during this transition.  We accomplish this through our campaigns that provide our members with a platform to have their voice and policy priorities heard. 

Developing careers in climate solutions

We provide road maps, training, resources and networks that fossil fuel industry and Indigenous workers require to establish careers in climate solutions. We do this through our rapid upskilling programs, career development support, and our Climate Career Portal. 

Building scalable climate solutions 

We build scalable climate solutions through our sustainable energy projects to provide an opportunity for our members to gain hands-on experiences and directly contribute to tangible emissions reductions.

OUR MESSAGE

There’s a place for fossil fuels

Most people around the world use oil & gas or coal in some form on a day-to-day basis, and these resources currently represent 84% of all energy production. The members of Iron & Earth greatly appreciate the jobs that these fossil fuel resources have provided and realize that we will rely on many of these jobs into the near future. For these reasons, we recognize fossil fuels as essential resources in today’s economy and energy sector.

Now is the time for ambitious climate action

Iron & Earth is driven by the understanding of, and the desire to prevent, the worst impacts of global warming. In order to achieve this, the world must reach net-zero by 2050 and an increasing number of countries and businesses are committing to this target. We are inspired by the shift currently underway and recognize the need for countries, businesses and society to take ambitious action towards this global effort.  

Climate careers (jobs in renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon capture, Indigenous-led solutions, energy storage and many other climate solutions) have already created millions of jobs around the world. If the world is going to reach net-zero by 2050, these types of careers will continue to grow exponentially. Fortunately, many renewable energy jobs require the same skills and tradespeople that are currently working in oil & gas and coal industries.

Where Iron & Earth meet

We, the members of Iron and Earth, are the hands and feet of the energy future, since we are fossil fuel industry workers passionate about applying our skills to build the energy industry of the net-zero future. Our intention is to see that fossil fuel resources are managed sustainably while ensuring climate solutions are deployed at the scale required to reach net-zero by 2050. 

There is a lot of work to do to make the transfer of skills fluid, and that is part of the work that Iron & Earth is engaged in. If this direct transfer of skills can be streamlined (and we know that it can be), countries around the world will be empowered to more rapidly diversify their energy sector.

That is why we bring together diverse stakeholders to advance a shared vision of the future. Oilsands workers, business owners, non-profits, politicians from the left and right, and every-day consumers can stand together for a future we all believe in – one where iron and earth meet.

Iron & Earth was founded and operates on Indigenous land within Treaty Six Territory and Métis Region 4 in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (in Nehiyawewin/Cree), so-called Edmonton. The home of many Indigenous Peoples including the Nehiyawak/Cree, Tsuut’ina, Niitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois, Dene Suliné, Anishinaabe/Ojibway/Saulteaux, and the Inuk/Inuit.

We pay our respects to all Indigenous Peoples of this land. Through their spiritual and practical relationships with the land, a rich heritage for our learning and our life as a community has been created and maintained. We recognize that the transition to a low-carbon future must be led by Indigenous Peoples and that there will be no justice unless we acknowledge and repair our relationship with the land.

We are committed to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and acknowledge that we are always learning and unlearning practices that minimize harm and lead to the development of trust between us and Indigenous Peoples across Nations and urban centers.

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