Guest Blog: Innovation Without Reinvention: Keeping Clients Engaged in a Changing Resources Market
A big thank you to Renee Gardiner, Resources Industry Director and Owner at Aurecon for our latest guest blog post. Renee delivered a fantastic keynote at the 2025 Hot 30 Awards and has graciously shared her insights with the broader CORE ecosystem.
At Aurecon, innovation is part of our DNA. We’ve proudly held a spot on the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies list for eight consecutive years, but we know innovation is not just about reinvention—especially in the resources sector. It’s about knowing when and how to apply it in ways that genuinely add value to our clients.
Across my 24 years in the industry—as a researcher, client, and now a consultant—I’ve learned that innovation must be practical, scalable, and aligned with client needs. Whether you’re dealing with a Tier 1 miner or a Tier 2 manufacturer, understanding how and when to engage is critical, especially in today’s climate of geopolitical uncertainty and shifting market dynamics.
Here are eight practical ways innovators can stay relevant and engaged with clients—even when times are tough.
1. Focus on Cost-Effective Innovation
For Tier 2 and 3 clients with tight budgets, innovation needs to deliver immediate, visible value. That means low-cost, high-impact solutions that improve efficiency or reduce operating costs without needing major investment. Too often, innovators bring high-tech ideas that haven’t been piloted, leaving clients to bear the cost and risk of testing. In operational environments where downtime directly impacts the bottom line, the ease of deployment is just as important as the potential benefit.
2. Collaborate on Problem-Solving
Clients want to be part of the innovation journey—not just the end user. Co-develop solutions with them, understand their constraints, and support them through trials. Innovation becomes valuable when it solves a specific, high-priority problem and doesn’t leave the client to clean up after issues. Once, a wastewater trial gone wrong resulted in environmental breaches and emergency on- site responses. The innovator had stepped away after the sale—an experience that could’ve been different with shared ownership and collaboration.
3. Offer Value Beyond Dollars
Innovators often focus solely on financial ROI, but clients also value operational efficiencies—like fewer maintenance hours, reduced stock requirements, or simpler work processes. These “invisible wins” can help make a business case when direct dollar savings are hard to calculate. Think beyond the product: how can you reduce deployment costs, streamline integration, or reuse existing assets to keep total costs down?
4. Communicate and Build Trust
Strong relationships and open communication matter—especially during times of uncertainty. Stay close to your clients, be responsive, and, importantly, ask for feedback. Not just about the product, but about how you support their business. Surprisingly, very few innovators ask how they can improve. Feedback can reveal barriers to adoption or help refine your pitch. You may not always be speaking with a decision-maker, but you’re always influencing one.
5. Understand Tier 1 Priorities
When I worked for a Tier 1 mining company on decarbonisation planning, it was clear that these organisations move slowly and strategically. Decisions are heavily data-driven and risk- averse. Everything—from safety to environmental risk—can be converted into a dollar figure, and investments must clear a high ROI threshold. Tier 1s prioritise initiatives that help extract or move more tonnes at lower cost. Even a small operational change—like switching a gasket—needs to overcome supply chain inertia, contract obligations, and internal change resistance. If your product only offers marginal gains, it’s unlikely to gain traction—unless it solves a problem of scale or contributes to a key macrotrend like decarbonisation.
6. Leverage Existing Tech and Partnerships
You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel. Often, there’s value in helping clients get more out of what they already have. Retrofitting, optimising existing systems, or aligning with an established brand can fast-track adoption. Partnerships with larger, well-known suppliers or OEMs can also provide credibility and broaden your reach—especially when you’re targeting clients that prefer working with existing vendors to reduce onboarding complexity.
7. Offer Scalable, Low-Risk Solutions
One way to reduce client hesitancy is to offer scalable models—pilot programs, phased implementations, or subscription-based services. Tier 1s in particular need redundancy; a pilot must run in parallel to operations to avoid production risks. Be realistic about scalability and transparent about the maturity of your solution. Low TRL (Technology Readiness Level) products may not be considered if ROI is difficult to quantify or timelines are too long. In some cases, companies are extending study phases waiting for innovation to catch up.
8. Explore Alternative Funding Models
Even resource companies love a funding subsidy. Shared-risk models, grant funding, or joint ventures can help split the cost of innovation—particularly when budgets are tight. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is a great example of how government- backed funding can de-risk trials and accelerate adoption of clean technologies.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re pitching to a Tier 1 or Tier 3, the common thread is people. Innovation may be tech-driven, but adoption is people-driven. Building relationships, understanding pain points, and being agile in your engagement strategy is key. At Aurecon, we pride ourselves on being client-centric. That means being brave enough to innovate while staying grounded in our clients’ realities. If you take one thing away, let it be this: Tonnes are king. But relationships, trust, and understanding your client's world—that’s how you keep your innovation relevant.