About Us

Our Purpose:

AstonECO was formed to bridge the partnership gap between infrastructure proponents - industry and authorities - and project host communities.

We believe that businesses, communities and government stand to win much by understanding each other’s fears / concerns / interests and addressing them before decisions are made. Our job is to help this to happen.

Why we do what we do

Each potential project can support or undermine local sustainable development. We need to understand what a community’s sustainable development journey looks like, and from this project designers need briefs that help deliver on this.

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Win-Win

What we bring to the table

 

We understand business – we worked in senior management positions, we are entrepreneurs, we know the challenges first hand.

We understand technical and environmental aspects – our senior team are engineers (civil and environmental) and communicators.

We understand that risks are also about perceptions as much as (or sometimes more than) about facts. We address this.

We understand community integrity and its power in shaping the development of a healthy, well rounded project.

We are facilitators and project-co-designers – we're skilled in communication and technical expertise to build bridges and enable proactive partnerships to deliver joint visions. We empower sustainable business, projects and communities.

Our Mission

We facilitate engagement processes that cultivate clarity, mutual understanding and trust to enable communities, industry and authorities to co-design projects supported by all.

Our Values

Inclusivity: Each perspective adds value - we create spaces where perspectives are shared, listened to and respected, where all individuals can take part in decisions that affect them.

Clarity: We strive for a clear understanding by all involved, that current realities & perspectives, objectives, risks, aspirations and opportunities are mutually recognised, in order to enable informed discussion and decisions.

Creativity: We work to stimulate creativity and learning in thought and action, with a view to reach common objectives and mobilise required innovations. 

Can-do: We believe there are solutions to our shared challenges and we know that together we can realise them.

People: We enjoy working, innovating and learning with the people around us.

Our Vision

Communities, industry and authorities find it easy to work together to co-create projects that result in a sustainable and prosperous future for all involved, and for society at large.

Why we do what we do

There are huge potential upsides from changing the way we think about project development. Obviously, projects have to be financially successful and technically feasible. Nowadays, people also put their foot down and say they have to be environmentally compatible. Also, given the increasing challenges facing communities, they benefit from partnering with local sustainable development potential so they can be embraced by all community members.

Smart Engagement does just that: takes the focus away from only the economic and technical aspects of a project to getting the stakeholders involved in their co-design from the beginning. It takes a little more time, so it may cost a little more to start with; but it saves a lot later, and has potential to add much more value – to all involved.

You get a sustainable project, because at the end of the day, your projects’ neighbours are the people who know what they can and want to live with.