In 2005, Stein was asked to join former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz and California Energy Commissioner Jim Boyd on the board of the newly formed California Secure Transportation Energy Partnership (CalSTEP). A diverse group of industry, automotive, business, academic, policy and other nongovernmental professionals, CalSTEP was formed to develop a comprehensive pro-business action plan to increase energy efficiency and fuel choice in California. Stein’s work with CalSTEP, the first major initiative focused on a single state developing its own transportation-energy security plan, resulted in an invitation from Shell International Gas Ltd. to participate in multiple workshops examining policy options and business planning outcomes relating to energy and the environment.