GETTING TO KNOW YOU
package, but we also really focus on
opportunity: where are the revenue
streams that could accrue to our
clients.
What process, services and
support do your clients receive?
We usually start with a new client by
taking them through our diagnostic
tool. It explores how deeply an
organisation is thinking and acting
with regards to sustainability and
adaptation to climate change and
delivers a report with a score and a
series of clear recommendations for
improvement along a capability scale.
We also have a service that takes a
deeper dive into an organisation’s risk
profile and how those risks change
as we hit the sorts of tipping points
mentioned above. What we really
enjoy doing is workshopping a client’s
product/service and operational
portfolio, looking at how we can use
their core competencies and USP to
innovate where we expect demand
to grow, and developing a strategic
roadmap to help them preserve and
create value into the future.
What challenges did you face in
setting up your business?
We’re basically trying to create a new
service category, and it’s for a topic
that can still be quite polarising. So we
have the challenge of explaining what
we’re about to business leaders and
we still encounter people who don’t
want to believe that the climate is
already changing.
Tell us about some of the
expectations that you had. Have
they been met?
Inevitably with a new start up there are
a few bumps along the road. We had
hoped that the change in government
leadership last year might create a
more receptive business environment.
But the evidence that the climate is
changing is now becoming hard to
ignore, and we were heartened by a
poll released in September that found
over three quarters of Australians now
believe it is happening and two thirds
want Australia to lead the world in
solutions.
Do you provide services
nationally?
Yes we do.
Do you have any plans for
overseas expansion?
As a consultancy our services are
readily portable and we have already
undertaken assignments across the
Tasman.
What would you say to
someone looking for a business
consultant and what advice
would you give them?
You need to know what you want
from the consultant. In some cases,
people use consulting firms to
justify decisions they’ve already
made. Sometimes they just need
to augment the capacity of their
in-house resources. In other cases
people are genuinely looking for a new
perspective on their business and are
willing to listen to fresh ideas. That’s
the bracket that we’re interested in.
Have you written a book? If so,
please tell us a bit about what
business owners can get out of it.
We’ve just released Navigating the
Adaptive Economy, which is a guide for
businesses that spells out potential
risks and market opportunities from
a changing climate, and provides a
host of tools to help business owners
assess their prepare.
November 2016
ModernBusiness
33