We asked four contributing business leaders – What will be the biggest trend impacting your industry in 2021?
David Redfern, CEO, Lafarge Eastern Canada
“The biggest near-term trend impacting the building and construction materials industry will be putting the power of procurement to work to create demand and spur innovation for sustainable solutions, which in turn will have repercussions on construction, development and design.
“Critical to this will be the adoption of tools such as the CSA sponsored CarbonStar standard to bring transparency to the carbon footprint of products and services.”
David Lim, Managing Director, Exmar
“The single biggest factor which normally affects the oil and gas industry is the market price and we think that consumption of oil and gas will only increase and see recovery from COVID lows starting sometime in the second half of 2021.
“The global demand for energy will continue to increase and there will be the need for continued oil and gas exploration and production. Simultaneously, the push for decarbonization increases the efforts for emissions reduction in the oil and gas industry and power generation sector with the application of new and improved technologies and to reduce CO2.”
Mark Haubert, Vice President Business Development, Marketing & Technology, Ranger Energy Services
“There is set to be a continued drive to increase efficiency in drilling, completion and production operations. Since the 1980s, digital monitoring systems have been developed for oil and gas drilling rigs to capture data from downhole sensors using wireline logging and measurement while drilling tools.
“Today, these systems have evolved into advanced drilling, data acquisition, control, automation and monitoring systems. State-of-the-art automated rigs capture data and control the rotary system, pipe handling and makeup, top drive and hoisting system, fluids management and circulation systems, rotary steerable systems, well control systems, power systems and third-party systems.”
Jim Frank, CIO, Sentry
“Everyone remains focused on the current developments surrounding COVID-19. With many businesses transforming the way they operate, it has meant it has changed where the exposures are and it has meant that adjusting accordingly is vital.
“Severe weather is also having an increasing impact on our industry. From wildfire season lasting longer and covering more ground to hurricanes becoming more frequent and intense – it’s something we’re all watching closely.”
