What Green Mountain and I have gained from participating
By Svein Atle Hagaseth
Chief Sales Officer in Green Mountain
As many of you have recently read on our LinkedIn page, Green Mountain decided to contribute to the Infrastructure Masons Education Fund and sponsor one of their key events and initiatives this year – A Sustainability workshop in London. Why? Because we believe The Infrastructure Masons is the most important platform for both industry knowledge sharing and action on the important challenges facing the industry: Sustainability, Diversity, Education, Transparency and more. So, let me share my thoughts on what both Green Mountain and I personally have gained from getting involved in IMasons.
Uniting the builders of the digital age
First, a bit of history about the organization. The Infrastructure Masons (IMasons) was founded by Dean Nelson, a long time industry contributor, in 2016. The idea was to provide infrastructure executives and technical professionals an independent forum to connect, grow and give back. The industry clearly welcomed Nelson’s idea as the number of members has grown to 2500. Today, IMasons organise several committees. Each focusing on specific topics and host a number of events, meetings and initiatives throughout the year. Most noteworthy is maybe the “$1M Education Challenge”, raising money for scholarships for the next generation of infrastructure professionals.
Leaving our company roles behind
For companies like Green Mountain, this group has provided a platform where everybody in the industry has the opportunity to be heard and learn from each other. The organization has done massive efforts over the past years in bringing the industry together and lifting some very important topics to the front of mind. The number one rule is to leave your company role at the door which consequently has created a neutral arena to discuss actions on how we drive our industry forward. Small or big, it doesn’t matter – your perspectives are important, you are listened to and recognized.
My personal experience with Infrastructure Masons
The Infrastructure Masons organization has also been very important to me personally as a “new” data center resource now 4 years into this industry. I came across the group accidentally on LinkedIn soon after its inception. It has given me valuable insights into how executives handle challenges of diversity, education, transparency and of course my favorite topic, sustainability. Because of my interest I was invited to be part of the Sustainability Committee in IMasons led by Patrik Øhlund. In this group we discuss and share our perspectives on how to work together to become a truly sustainable industry. We realize that we are a part of both the problem and the solution to the climate challenge.
Furthermore, I find the work sessions at events especially useful. Sometimes the best way to learn is to just sit and listen to my industry peers, while other times I share and discuss my experiences from the Nordic region.
The power to do something
As mentioned earlier, some of the most important challenges the industry must tackle are:
- closing the competence gap
- promoting diversity
- reaching the world’s sustainability goals
- supporting continuous innovation
In order to do this, we must unite across the different players in the industry. The IMasons is by the industry for the industry. We accomplish more together rather than as individual companies.
I want to thank Dean Nelson, Jeff Omelchuck and Simon Allen especially for our cooperation in this group. To have a place in a bigger forum to share our perspectives, ideas and thoughts on how to drive the industry forward. IMasons has definitively driven us in Green Mountain forward. It has helped us continue to have an inquisitive mind, be innovative and to re-think how we need to work.
Considering joining? Read more about IMasons on their homepage.
Above: Video from the iMasons Sustainability Workshop in London – February 2020
Above: Video from the iMasons Food for Thought Dinner – London 2020