Background
I had just quit my job in big tech, and the plan was a mini-sabbatical with some hiking in Patagonia. Then the chance came up to help co-found and launch a new clean economy nonprofit in Canada, and it was one of those moments where everything clicks into place. It pushed me to start my own consulting practice, and Adamant became my first client. I came in to help shape what the organization would be, then build and launch it.
Adamant challenges the influence the fossil fuel industry holds over Canada's energy policy and culture, and builds support for a clean, competitive economy. It works as a hybrid, part think tank, part storytellers, and part movement builders.
The work runs on three connected pillars. Economic storytelling turns clean economy experts and research into stories people actually hear and care about, network convening brings experts and leaders together behind a bolder shared story, and movement building turns public support for better economic choices into the public pressure needed to win policy change.
Why Adamant is different
The core argument is that climate cannot be won on climate alone; it has to be won on economics. Most climate groups are not credible on economics, so that argument goes unmade, and Adamant exists to make it. The economics of the clean economy are now better than those of the energy systems Canada is being told to bet on, and that is the ground on which the whole transition will be won or lost.
Adamant does not speak in the language of economists. The conversation is about jobs, homegrown businesses that succeed, opportunities that keep wealth local, lower costs, and a future worth living in. There is a gap for voices who can make that case clearly, and a gap for groups who can paint a simple, appealing picture of what we are building toward, and Adamant fills both.
What sets the organization apart is that blend of skills, the focus on winning the economic argument, and a willingness to talk about both the yes and the no, meaning what Canada needs to start building and what it needs to stop.
The work
I helped take Adamant from an idea to an operating organization, which meant federally incorporating, launching, and getting it running. I led the establishment of a new charitable partnership and secured our first year of funding.
From there it was the practical work of building an organization that actually runs. I helped seat a board of directors, opened the bank account, set up the mailing address, and put the operational systems in place for daily work. I drafted the first version of Adamant's narrative and content strategy, then hired two content creators to start putting work out on social channels, and I led the build of our website alongside our developer partners. I also built and nurtured relationships across the field, connecting Adamant with leading Canadian climate nonprofits, with economists and academics doing important research, and with potential allies in the work ahead.
Build Canada Better
One of Adamant's first research pieces landed right as the federal government began fast-tracking its projects of national interest, a slate of big infrastructure meant to transform the economy. Most of the energy-related projects in line for billions in taxpayer support would expand fossil fuels or nuclear, locking the economy into inefficient, declining energy platforms at the exact moment technological advances are pushing global buyers to shift the other way.
Adamant made the case for a hard pivot. Working with partners through the spring, the organization put forward a vision built around yes: yes to large-scale, distributed clean energy megaprojects that, backed the way fossil fuel and nuclear projects are backed, would deliver more jobs, more economic independence, and better affordability, with less market risk and far less pollution. Five clean megaprojects worth building a nation around.
This became one of Adamant's first research artifacts and staked out its position on what nation building should actually look like. I contributed to the research, the early drafts of the briefings, and sourcing quotes and support from partners, and I worked on the comms and launch plan to extend their reach. The work earned coverage in Corporate Knights and National Observer.
Reflecting, and looking ahead
This work is only just beginning. What I have described here covers the first few months, and gives a sense of what the start of this journey has looked like. I have stayed on as Managing Director, and I am excited to help Adamant grow and meet its goal of shifting the conversation and culture around clean energy in Canada.