Capability specialist, BP
Some 1 million people have seen Farhana Muna’s online videos since the first one went viral in 2014. Using her unique sense of humour, she’s gathered a huge following on social media ̶ but it’s not all online fun and games. She’s an activist who has worked with UN Women in her home country of Bangladesh and facilitated grassroots workshops to empower women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Somehow, she balances being a social media phenomenon and a working mum to a two-year-old daughter with a full-time career as a capability specialist for BP – and she heads up one of the organization’s global diversity and inclusion groups.
PhD student in engineering at Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, US
Leading a project to turn waste CO2 into a valuable resource has seen 27-year-old Elvis recognized in Forbes’ 2019 list of '30 under 30 fuelling a more sustainable future.' Using HI-light, a solar-thermal chemical reactor technology, Elvis is converting CO2 into renewable fuels, such as syngas or methanol.
PhD student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore
Gurleen’s doctoral research focuses on developing low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells. As a research associate for the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, she works on screening biodegradable, novel material alternatives (organic PEDOT:PSS). She is a published author and, along with her team, has given more than 20 talks at conferences and institutions detailing her research in renewable energies.
She is also the founder of Solisfix, a start-up aimed at addressing insurance and maintenance issues of solar products in South East Asia.
Commercial and planning analyst, BP
Thirty-one-year-old Rza Aliyev currently works in planning and commercial operations for BP’s recently-formed Mauritania and Senegal team.
As a United Nations youth delegate, prior to joining BP, Rza worked on the resolution to combat human trafficking and the exploitation of children, and he was part of the team in Washington DC that saw his native Azerbaijan elected to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. He was also part of the Schwarzman Scholars programme in Beijing, which BP supports.
Graduate researcher at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University
As part of her studies, Xu has given public presentations on the effects of pollution and first-authored two papers published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
She also won the Top 100 Prize in the ‘Create the Future’ Design Contest organized by NASA Tech Briefs and was named as a Forbes Under 30 Scholar in 2018.
CEO of Ecobora
Justine is the founder of Ecobora, a company that recycles organic waste into affordable clean cooking pellets and equips rural communities with solar-powered kiosks through which they can access green energy products.
Ecobora is now focusing on introducing solar thermal technologies to schools and local factories, which are among the biggest consumers of biomass in rural Kenya.
Geophysicist, BP
As a geophysicist, Joanna has spent most of her life studying the earth. She started her BP career working on the West of Shetland Schiehallion field, building her technical skills, and now provides geophysical analysis in support of eastern hemisphere BP exploration teams.
Her love of the deep underground means she’s taken an interest in seeing how carbon sequestration ̶ storing carbon in the subsurface ̶ can help to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.
Financial control, GoM accounting, reporting and control team, BP
Siji, who joined BP in 2016, is passionate about creating positive change. His key interest is in ending generational poverty through education and the provision of opportunities for success. To that end, he set up the JIOM foundation with the long-term goal of working with educational organizations and private investors to create scholarships that provide access to education.
He sees the role of finance as essential in solving the dual challenge.
Electrical engineer, ONEE
With Fahd overseeing a major rural electrification programme, the number of villages with access to the grid in Morocco’s Rhamna Province almost doubled to 190. Villages that could not be connected to the grid were included in a subsequent solar electrification project involving more than 2,000 solar panels, that allowed for 99.75% electricity coverage in the province.
His success is all driven by his passion to promote renewable energy solutions, smart grids and access to reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity for all. Fahd is now taking an MBA at the University of Bath that focuses on sustainable development to improve access to electricity globally.
Supply analyst, BP
Meredith is an asset planner in the China retail business, which has seen the opening of the first BP-branded retail site in Jinan, Shandong Province.
This new site is also BP’s first in China offering fast charging for electric vehicles. In addition, Meredith’s team will be working to support the government's aim of providing cleaner ethanol-blend gasoline to consumers.
Project lead, project and modifications, BP
Aldinal joined BP in 2014 and, after several engineering roles, he’s currently the youngest construction engineer for the projects and modifications group in his native Indonesia. As part of his role, he worked on a new technology that provides remote monitoring of a critical turbine at BP's Tangguh plant, cutting both the costs and carbon footprint associated with inspections by teams based 3,000 kilometres away.
In 2018, Aldinal received a Certificate of Excellence from the Tallow Chandlers Company, an historic London guild that recognizes technical excellence and societal contribution.
The annual One Young World Summit convenes the brightest young talent in every sector from around the globe, working to accelerate social impact. Delegates from 190+ countries are counselled by influential political, business and humanitarian leaders.
As a OYW partner, BP has been sending employee delegates from the company to take part in the summit since 2016.
This year, 30 BP staffers are attending to join the debate on advancing the energy transition, creating low carbon businesses, and mitigating the impact of climate change.
And, for the first time, BP is joining forces with OYW to launch the BP Advancing Energy Scholarship, which funds the attendance of a further 30 young energy leaders from Bolivia to Burkina Faso.