Team, I want to tell you a little story about my very first job, and how it changed my life forever.

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I was 12 or 13 when I learned that there was a scrap metal yard near my house that paid for aluminum and tin by the pound.

One afternoon, my dad and I were having lunch at a local pizza place. I was horrified to discover the restaurant was throwing all their soda cans straight into the garbage, so my dad made a suggestion: I should come back and ask the owner if he’d consider separating them out for me.

I was a little embarrassed to ask, but he agreed. Once a week, I’d pick up the cans from the restaurant and drop them off at the scrap yard for a profit.

I even got to know the guy who ran the yard, who gave me a tour of the facility and showed me how they turned soda cans into molten slabs of aluminum. (It was awesome.)

I probably made less than $100 that summer. But I gained something more valuable than pocket money: a hands-on understanding of the circular economy; that revolutionary idea that our waste has value. I learned that prosperity doesn’t have to come at the expense of our planet.

Even after four decades, I haven’t forgotten what I learned that summer. I’m working to expand access to cleaner, cheaper energy and create jobs at the same time. I’m fighting for better funding for climate research and innovation. I’m fighting for an economy that’s both strong AND sustainable.

The future of our planet is in our hands.