Laura Barron is the newly appointed CEO of econext, the not-for-profit focused on supporting clean growth in the Newfoundland and Labrador economy. Barron was previously external communications lead with World Energy GH2, proposing a wind-hydrogen-ammonia energy development on the west coast of Newfoundland. At econext, she believes that experience in communications will serve her well as she kicks off with an effort to hear from members and outside partners. She has the goal of more clearly defining what makes the organization stand apart, as others push into the “clean,” “green” business support space.

Barron was just out of a staff meeting during her first week, on Thursday, Aug. 7, when she took a moment to speak with Atlantic Business Magazine.

 

Q: What drew you to econext?

A: Working with World Energy GH2 – we were members of econext for the last three and half years or so. So, I was already familiar with the organization and the type of work they do. But when I saw this opportunity, I was surprised by how aligned it is with my experience and what I’m passionate about. The job description focused a lot on stakeholder relations and, with that, member relations, funders, government, First Nations, academia. These are all the types of relationships that I’ve been working on and building. There’s a lot of cross-over there. And of course, you know, I’m passionate about our province, our environment (and) about our economy. I see econext as an opportunity to support all the businesses and organizations that are working in that space, instead of just working with one. I’m very excited by what econext does, and what the organization can do. So, I feel really grateful.

 

Q: Do you have particular topics to jump into, or actions you want to take in your first days?

A: From a practical point of view, I’m focused on developing a new strategic plan for the organization. Over the coming weeks and months, I want to gather input from the team, the board, the members, the funders and partners on how econext serves them and creates value for them. I think it’s really important we differentiate the organization. There’s a lot happening in the green space and clean growth and that’s fantastic. But it also creates a bit of clutter and overlap, and maybe confusion, as to who you go to for what kinds of support or partnerships. I think econext has an opportunity to carve out a niche and be really clear about who we are, what we do, why it matters to different stakeholders. In that, I really want to focus on how we’re creating value for our members and our partners. (…) Also getting into the weeds of things over the last few days, I’m really interested in building a sustainable organization. So, recognizing that not-for-profits are really funding dependent and there’s funding cycles associated with that. I want to look at how we (…) can look at revenue sources that we can control a bit more. Is there more we can do through our events, through our sponsorships? Are there potential members we’re missing that we could add to our membership? Even the team structure, ensuring we’re applying business continuity and giving people opportunities to grow and be promoted. (But) taking a really close look at how the organization is structured and how it functions and how it can survive and do really well into the future.

 

Q: How many days have you been on the job at this point?

A: This is my fourth day. (…) I’m getting to know what’s happening but wanting to ready the team for change without making changes too fast. Because things are going really well. The econext team is filled with great people. The membership is great. The funding relationships are great. There’s no problems that I’m seeing. It’s just: how can I make some things better for everyone? That’s going to take some time. And I want to be really careful and thoughtful about any changes.

 

Q: Econext’s latest newsletter on August 6 included your first message to members. It mentioned “a sharper focus at the provincial and national levels on climate action.” But is climate change and climate response fading into the background as things like trade and geopolitical tensions dominate the news?

A: It’s interesting. Because there’s kind of two sets of things and ways of thinking happening. We’re seeing that climate action has slowed. The climate targets that everyone has known never really moved but we’re not getting much closer to reaching them. A lot of countries have relaxed some of the policies and regulations they were putting into place and stretched goals from 2030 to 2050. We’re seeing that internationally, so that’s a concern. At the same time, we’re seeing here in the province – the province recently put out a climate adaptation plan, a climate mitigation plan. That’s very encouraging. It’s also very encouraging that they’re separate plans. Because while they are a part of climate change and climate action, they’re very different ways of dealing with it. (…) I also think that, you know, what we’re seeing with the wildfires right now, or seeing with floods and extreme weather around the world, that we can’t ignore climate change. We have to mitigate. We have to adapt. So I think we’re going to be forced to deal with it. And we need actual action plans to get us to 2030, 2040 and 2050 targets. And the closer it’s getting, the more pressing the need for tangible plans and tangible actions. I think econext is in a unique position to really help.

 

Q: Anything else you want to mention?

A: I think that the province – and I know I said something like this in the message, because it’s something I believe – I think our province has an opportunity to play a really important role in our country’s green economy. I think that we’re living and working in a really important time. And we need to be really thoughtful and strategic about generating and supporting economic activity that minimizes environmental impact and maximizes economic benefits. I think we say things like this all the time, and that’s the intention with many projects and developments, but we need to really do it. And there are lots of organizations that are actively working on our green economy and the province is very focused on this. So, I think there’s just so much more that can be done and we’re on the right track. We just need to pull together, support each other and really help Newfoundland and Labrador advance in the green economy space.

---

(NOTE: Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

---

• For more Web Exclusives, click here.