A delighted Mullion Group team at the Telstra Best of Business Awards. Photo: Telstra.
Canberra-based software and consulting company The Mullion Group took home the Embracing Innovation gong at the recent 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards in Melbourne.
From humble origins, the Canberra tech company has grown to become an award-winning business with an international presence and plans to expand further.
“We started in Farrer, one of the director’s garages, four of us jammed into that tiny little space. And now we’ve got offices in Canberra and Melbourne, Fort Collins in the US, and we’re exploring opportunities in London as well,” project and supply chain expert Geoff Roberts told Region.
The company developed the world’s first online land-based data integration software to measure and forecast carbon emissions. The software, FLINTPro, is used by clients around the world including Shell, Macquarie and the World Resources Institute.
FLINTPro uses data from satellites, ground measurements and models to create a detailed analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, offering actionable insights for clients to reduce their carbon footprint.
Since its inception in 2014, FLINTPro has supported more than 600 natural climate solutions projects – and as more and more companies and organisations strive to meet net-zero targets, this number is only likely to increase.
“With our 2050 targets, everybody needs to get on board and start working towards them,” financial controller Margot Sachse said.
”And that’s where FLINTPro comes in, as we are able to give land managers, either foresters or farmers, the tools and the information for them to make decisions on how they’re going to get there.
“It allows them to look back at what’s happened historically, but it also allows them to predict forward to see just what they need to do in order to meet the targets.”
The Mullion Group CEO Dr Rob Waterworth and financial controller Margot Sachse. Photo: Telstra.
Crucially, while the technology is home-grown in Canberra, it can be applied by land managers around the world to measure and model their greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s not simply a farm in Australia,” Ms Sachse said. ”So you can easily replicate it, no matter where you are in the world. That’s one of the unique things about FLINTPro, that it’s not just about Australia, you can use it no matter where you are located.”
The Mullion Group said its recognition in this year’s Telstra awards was the result of decades of hard work, helped by a strong team and a corporate sector that was increasingly keen to utilise carbon accounting technology to meet net-zero targets.
“Where we are today is a combination of 20 years of innovation … of the individuals within the organisation working together,” Mr Roberts said. “So it’s not just the technology that’s come through. We’re building on decades of experience in this space.”
Looking ahead, The Mullion Group remains positive that, as awareness is growing, the company can be at the forefront of major change.
“In terms of the changes in the landscape, I think this is where often discussions are a little bit depressing,” Mr Roberts said.
”But I think there’s a lot of room for optimism because of the leadership in the corporate sector, and in the private sector, that we’re starting to see around the net-zero commitment.
“And the more focus on detailed accounting within supply chains that’s occurring at the moment … there’s a real global effort to understand what our true carbon footprint is, what we’re consuming, and to work out how that can be mitigated.
”It’s a really exciting time for an organisation like ours because this is, I think, the start of the tsunami that is coming in terms of natural capital accounting, as well as the carbon accounting space. So to be part of that journey … we’ve been hoping this moment would come for well over a decade. It is a really exciting place to be.”
Loading ...
