Conversio: Cut your business’s carbon emissions with specialist advice

Alex Stathakis is a sustainability gun for hire.

Alex’s speciality is airports, with his boutique consultancy Conversio one of Australia’s few approved Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) verifiers – a voluntary program for airports looking to cut down on carbon emissions.

Conversio has had a hand in number of local and international airport carbon accounting projects, including the Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, and Melbourne airports, and the Christchurch and Fiji’s Nadi international airports.

What’s interesting about airports is that there is an emphasis on stakeholder engagement, which adds an extra layer of complexity, Alex says.

The experience with carbon accounting clients in challenging environments, such as
airports, is easily transferable to other sectors, he says.

“The principles of carbon accounting don’t change”.

A career sustainability analyst, strategist and auditor, the Brisbane-based consultant has
dedicated his working life to helping Australian organisations do the “fundamental background work” to measure their carbon footprints and reduce unnecessary costs.

Alex was instrumental in administering the National Carbon Offset Standard Carbon Neutral Program, a voluntary standard allowing companies to achieve carbon neutrality.

He launched Conversio three years ago with the aim of simplifying the way in which businesses account, report and substantiate their emissions.

• How to avoid greenwash with eco certification

“For me, it’s that there needs to be emphasis on providing confidence that what they are reporting is accurate, and accurately reflects what’s happening in a company,” Alex says.

“Crossing t’s and dotting i’s is critical in this business.”