Selected Case Studies

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
GRDC commissioned work on how biodiversity and natural-capital valuation could be understood and applied within the Australian grains industry.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton contributed as part of a multi-expert team led by the Balmoral Group.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
Aton helped prepare the literature review, coordinated and conducted stakeholder interviews, and contributed to the final report and presentation.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The work assembled the evidence and stakeholder perspectives needed for GRDC and the industry to consider practical approaches to biodiversity and natural-capital valuation.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Natural-capital market analysis; stakeholder engagement; research; strategy and policy.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
GrainGrowers needed a practical view of how environmental legislation affects Australian grain producers and whether existing laws are achieving their intended outcomes efficiently.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton delivered a national review combining legal and policy analysis with the experience of industry stakeholders.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The review examined more than 60 pieces of Commonwealth and State environmental legislation. Each was considered for its relevance to growers, regulatory burden, benefits and effectiveness. Stakeholder input helped test how the rules operate in practice.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
GrainGrowers received an evidence base for advocating clearer and more effective environmental policy, grounded in both statutory analysis and grower experience.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Regulatory analysis; strategy and policy; stakeholder engagement; research.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
An investment fund was assessing rural properties for their potential to generate biodiversity credits and needed to understand both land value and project risk.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton undertook detailed commercial due diligence on a series of proposed acquisitions.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The work considered the properties as prospective biodiversity projects, bringing together transaction, market and project-development questions relevant to an investment decision.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The fund received an independent basis for comparing opportunities and deciding whether proposed acquisitions justified further investment.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Investment and transaction due diligence; biodiversity-market analysis; commercial assessment.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
A client wanted to understand how marine environmental markets operate internationally and what those models might mean for Australian marine ecosystems.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton undertook a global market review and prepared a discussion paper.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The review examined existing marine environmental-market approaches, the problems they were designed to address and their potential relevance in Australia.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The discussion paper provided a structured basis for considering which international approaches merited further investigation in an Australian context.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Market design and analysis; comparative policy research; natural-capital strategy.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
The NSW Department of Environment required sustained advice as biodiversity markets, natural-capital accounting and environmental finance developed between 2020 and 2023.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton worked with the Department on a retained basis across a series of related assignments.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The work addressed emerging biodiversity-market arrangements, the practical implementation of natural-capital accounting and broader sustainable-finance questions. It brought together policy objectives, economic analysis and the commercial realities faced by market participants.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The Department received continuing, independent analysis that could be applied as policy and market arrangements evolved, rather than a single point-in-time report.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Strategy and policy; market design and regulatory analysis; economic research; implementation advice.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
The Grains Research and Development Corporation needed a multi-year research strategy for understanding how environmental markets could affect the Australian grains industry.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton led a six-month strategic review.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The assignment examined the emerging carbon, biodiversity and broader natural-capital landscape; the implications for grain growers and research priorities; and the evidence needed to guide future investment.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
GRDC received a structured basis for deciding where research effort should be directed as environmental markets developed.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Strategy and policy; economic research; natural-capital market analysis; implementation planning.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
WaterStart, a US water-industry-backed venture organisation, was preparing to establish operations in Australia and needed a commercially grounded launch strategy.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton provided strategic review and practical launch assistance.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The assignment considered the Australian water-sector market, relevant industry relationships, the local pathway for water-technology ventures and the practical requirements for moving from a US model to an Australian operation.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
WaterStart received a clearer basis for launching locally and connecting technology development with the industrial-scale needs of Australian water utilities.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Strategy and policy; innovation and commercialisation; market analysis; implementation advice.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
CSIRO’s Digiscape Future Science Platform needed to understand where land-sector carbon research and decision-support tools could meet real market demand.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton undertook a strategy and commercialisation assignment with the research team.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The work identified and scoped market opportunities for land-sector carbon projects, tested how research priorities related to prospective users, and examined commercially viable roles for CSIRO-developed decision-support tools.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The team received a market-facing framework for shaping its research agenda and assessing pathways from technical capability to usable products and services.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Innovation and commercialisation; strategy; market analysis; research planning.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
Clean Energy Derivatives Corporation required investor-grade research on the Australian electricity market and commercial support in forward-contract negotiations.

ATON’S ROLE
Aton was retained in 2017–2018 to lead the electricity-market research and modelling team and provide the commercial lead in discussions with market counterparties.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
The team analysed market trends and produced research reports for investors. Aton also applied market, pricing and transaction experience to negotiations over forward electricity-contract terms.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
Investors received structured market analysis, while the business had senior commercial support for pricing and counterparty discussions.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Electricity-market analysis; economic and financial modelling; investment advice; transaction support.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
Australia’s emerging renewable-energy and carbon markets required workable trading standards, valuation data and informed policy engagement.

ATON’S ROLE
Karel was contracted via Aton as a Senior Policy Officer role with the Australian Financial Markets Association from 2002 to 2007.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
He led development of early Australian market-standard documentation for renewable-energy and carbon-credit trading, helped establish the AFMA Environmental Products revaluation curve, and prepared submissions on the design and implementation of carbon, renewable and other environmental markets.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The work gave market participants more consistent documentation, pricing information and a coordinated industry voice during the formation of these markets.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Market design and regulatory analysis; strategy and policy; economic research.

CLIENT CONTEXT / QUESTION
The Australian Energy Market Commission was considering prudential arrangements in the National Electricity Market and how G20 derivatives-reform principles should apply in that market.

ATON’S ROLE
Karel was retained as a consultant to the AEMC in 2013–2014.

WORK UNDERTAKEN
He brought electricity-market, finance and market-design experience to internal analysis, reports and rule-change work. The assignment included engagement with AEMO, the Australian Energy Regulator, Treasury and industry stakeholders.

OUTCOME OR DECISION ENABLED
The Commission had commercially informed analysis to support its consideration of prudential settings and the implications of wider financial-market reform for the National Electricity Market.

RELEVANT SERVICES
Electricity-market design; prudential and settlement analysis; regulation and policy; stakeholder engagement.