Vancouver, BC, Canada
Vince Beiser won the Writers’ Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy for Nonfiction for his groundbreaking book Power Metal, which exposes the environmental and human costs behind renewable energy and digital technology. His investigative journalism on resource extraction has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, Wired, The New York Times, and National Geographic, earning him recognition as one of North America’s leading voices on the intersection of technology, resources, and sustainability.
Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future is an investigation into how the materials we need for digital technology and renewable energy are causing environmental havoc, mayhem and murder, and how we can do better.
Vince Beiser’s investigative work reveals the uncomfortable truths corporate leaders need to understand about sustainability transitions. His award-winning research exposes how the race for lithium, copper, cobalt, and other critical minerals is creating new environmental challenges even as organizations pursue ‘green’ technologies. With features in The Atlantic, Harper’s, Wired, and The New York Times, Beiser brings rigorous journalism and compelling storytelling to complex resource challenges facing every industry investing in digital transformation and renewable energy.
Organizations planning sustainability initiatives, technology investments, or long-term resource strategies choose Vince Beiser because he delivers what most sustainability speakers avoid: the hard truths about trade-offs. Rather than promoting simple ‘green’ solutions, Beiser equips leadership teams to make informed decisions about resource dependencies, supply chain vulnerabilities, and the real environmental costs of technology transitions. He has reported from over 100 countries, states, provinces, kingdoms, occupied territories, no man’s lands and disaster zones.
His presentations combine award-winning investigative research with practical insights on navigating resource scarcity, geopolitical competition for critical minerals, and the ethical challenges of renewable energy infrastructure.
Vince Beiser brings:
His latest book and speaking topic, “Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future” is a globe-trotting investigation into how the materials we need for digital technology and renewable energy are causing environmental havoc, political upheaval, mayhem and murder—and how we can do better. The book has been featured on The Daily Show as well as in the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and many other outlets. It won Canada’s Balsillie Prize for Public Policy and was a finalist for a New York Public Library award and Europe’s Fetisov Journalism Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism.
Vince’s first book, “The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization,” about the deadly and destructive impacts of humanity’s use of this little-considered yet crucially important natural resource, was a finalist for a PEN America award and a California Book Award, and spawned a TEDx talk. Both books have been translated into many languages.
Vince has also exposed conditions in California’s harshest prisons, trained with US Army soldiers, ridden with the first responders to natural disasters, and hunted down other stories from around the world for publications including Wired, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, The Economist, The Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Vince’s work has been honored by Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Columbia, Medill and Missouri Graduate Schools of Journalism, and many other institutions. He has also shared in three National Magazine Awards and an Emmy.
Vince is a seasoned and compelling speaker, delivering deep knowledge and understanding of complex topics in everyday language, enlivened with firsthand experiences and a touch of humor. He has been interviewed on scores of TV and radio programs around the world, and has spoken at numerous corporate events and conferences as well as to prestigious institutions including the Wilson Center and World Wildlife Fund.
Similar Speakers 123