Leading Australian agribusiness and processing company GrainCorp has launched an initiative to develop a low carbon emissions supply chain for grains and oilseeds.
GrainCorp Next was designed to reduce carbon emissions by working with farmers to maintain and expand their sustainable farming practices, and by incorporating renewable energy sources and other practical decarbonisation interventions across GrainCorp’s supply chain, the company said on 29 October.
Although GrainCorp said the first phase of the initiative would focus on canola, there were plans to extend the initiative to other key crops such as wheat and barley to broaden low carbon farming practices across the supply chain.
The initial focus would be on canola growers in Victoria and New South Wales states, with plans to expand the initiative across the east coast of Australia.
“By assessing each stage of the canola value chain, we’re working to demonstrate practical emissions reductions interventions that can be scaled across the industry,” GrainCorp general manager Sustainability Michael Anderson said.
According to GrainCorp’s research, less than 10% of growers surveyed mapped their emissions.
As part of the initiative, participating farmers would be given guidance on sustainable farming practices, support on emissions reduction strategies and opportunities to collaborate with other growers in exchanging and sharing experiences.
Working in partnership with GrainCorp, crop input and farm services provider Nutrien Ag Solutions would be using its Farm Emissions Profile service to calculate participating farmers’ net farm emissions and help make data-driven decisions on carbon reduction for their operation.
GrainCorp stores, processes and facilitates the transportation of grains and edible oils across its global supply chain.
