Bob's Story
Working in the fossil fuel industry
I started my career in the oil industry in 2011, first at BP and later at Shell, where I worked until 2024. My academic background is in behavioural science, and I have always been deeply interested in how people can be engaged positively and activated to drive real change.
Early in my career, I asked myself a fundamental question: where could I make the most impact with my work and my life? At that time, one of the biggest societal challenges was, and still is, the energy transition. I believed that if meaningful change was going to happen, it had to come from within the heart of the system. For me, Shell represented that opportunity.
I joined Shell and started my career at a refinery, where my initial role focused on implementing proactive technical monitoring. The aim was to move away from reacting to incidents after they happened and instead intervene before things went wrong. This required redesigning processes, training people, and learning how to interpret data in new ways. I found the work fascinating, and the impact was tangible. We saw fewer incidents, lower emissions, and financial benefits. It was the first time I truly experienced how people, data, and technology could come together to create meaningful change.
This proactive approach became a recurring theme in my career. I later applied similar principles within IT and eventually moved into corporate roles focused on reducing Shell’s environmental footprint. One of my later responsibilities was reducing corporate flying through technical solutions. I began as a change manager and later became a portfolio manager, responsible for both strategy and execution.
Overall, I genuinely enjoyed working in the oil industry. I worked with intelligent, committed people, the work was intellectually stimulating, and the compensation was good. At the same time, I experienced the downsides of large organisations, including heavy bureaucracy, slow decision-making, and a strong dependence on business cases. While many people inside the company cared deeply about sustainability, progress often depended on whether initiatives could be framed as sufficiently “business savvy.”
When I realised it was time to leave
My decision to leave the oil industry did not happen overnight, but there was a clear turning point.
Under CEO Ben van Beurden, Shell publicly committed to becoming a net-zero company by 2050. It was an ambitious and inspiring goal, and I felt strongly aligned with that vision. I worked with renewed energy because it felt like we were genuinely trying to be, as Ben often said, “on the right side of history.”
When Ben stepped down around 2021, it quickly became apparent that the strategic direction was changing. The focus shifted back toward the traditional oil business, and the momentum around the energy transition slowed. Internally, I noticed declining interest in sustainability initiatives, and it became increasingly difficult to move projects forward.
At that point, I had to ask myself an honest question: if I truly want to stay on the right side of history, can I still do that here? My answer was no.
By then, I had seen how powerful the oil industry is and how strongly it is driven by shareholder interests. Changing the system from the inside was becoming harder rather than easier. At the same time, my understanding of the energy transition deepened, and it became clear to me that this is fundamentally a climate problem that requires faster and more decisive action. That realisation ultimately made my decision to leave clear.
What are you doing today?
Today, I am the CEO of Sustainers, a platform designed to activate employees to deliver measurable CO₂ reduction, cost savings, and time savings. In essence, Sustainers helps organisations move from sustainability vision to execution, and from policy to everyday practice.
Sustainers works by translating sustainability strategies into concrete, job-related actions that employees can take in their daily work. The idea is simple but powerful. Real change only happens when people are empowered to act.
We currently work across multiple sectors, including healthcare, oil and gas, banking, and other large organisations. While the contexts differ, the underlying challenge is always the same. Organisations often have ambitious sustainability goals, but struggle to turn them into meaningful action on the ground. That is exactly the gap Sustainers aims to bridge.
Importantly, I did not step into complete uncertainty when I left Shell. Together with a group of friends, I had already developed the Sustainers platform while still employed. By the time I left, it had already been implemented at Shell Australia and Shell Netherlands. Leaving felt less like a leap into the unknown and more like stepping fully into something I deeply believed in.
Parting reflections
Emotionally, leaving the oil industry was not difficult for me. I strongly believe in following your intuition. When something no longer feels right, it is time to move on.
Financially, I have given up the level of income I had at Shell, at least for now. That is a real trade-off. However, I believe it is something we can rebuild over time, and we are actively working towards that.
What I have gained is agency. Outside the oil industry, I have far more ability to act in line with my values and to drive the kind of change I believe is needed. With Sustainers, I feel that I am truly “walking the walk.” I am now fully committed to doing good and doing green, and helping organisations make sustainability actionable, measurable, and effective.
Has it been worth it? Absolutely. Life is an adventure. At one point, working at Shell was the right thing to do. Leaving was also the right thing to do. Today, building Sustainers and contributing to systemic change is exactly where I should be.
I am fully committed to making this work, for organisations, for people, and for the planet.