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Australian Platform News | |||
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SAI Platform Global – catch up.
The Platform Secretary's recent visit to Europe included discussions with SAI Global Paltfrom President Hans Joehr and Platform staffers at the Global Platform office. The discussions centred around ways of seamlessly integrating the information about sustainability practices available to members in both the Global Platform and the Australian Chapter. Technical means are being explored to enable such access. |
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Member Surveys
Surveys have been carried out in recent months to understand the nature of the sustainability function amongst member organisations and how SAI Platform Australia can support this. As a result of this we will be progressing the following initiatives. • Learning through other member's leadership experiences with member presentations at meetings. • Working Groups meetings to facilitate in-depth discussions, with guest speakers to provide an additional dimension to the agenda. The number and nature of working groups are to be reviewed in line with member needs. • A field trip for CEO's and senior executives providing first-hand exposure to cutting-edge sustainability initiatives. • Distribution of mapout documents so members can learn about Global and Asutralian members' initiatives. • Provide research papers and articles canvassing sustainability issues and developments. |
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General Meeting – February
Peter Margin, Managing Director, Goodman Fielder and Andrew Spencer, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Pork joined fellow members for the February meeting. This high-level representation combined with a presentation on Australian Agricultural Sustainability issues by the Secretary provided an insight in to what issues are important at a board level and new areas for members to tackle. Amongst these initiatives was future farming areas, water funding and agricultural education. Clare Leuhman, Incitec Pivot and Martin Blumenthall, GRCD represented our new members and provided a particularly informative dimension to member discussions coming from the fertilizer and grains industries. There will be further general meetings held in May and August, with the Annual General meeting to be held in October. |
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Working Group Meeting – Livestock and Livestock Products
The first working group meeting was held in February and the members welcomed Jenny O'Sullivan, a livestock producer in Gippsland who presented on key issues facing her farming activities in improving sustainability, key projects underway and opportunities for the future. Her presentation focussed on the development of a marketing innovation – a premium meat product marketed on the basis of its environmental sustainability in production. |
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Global SAI News | |||
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News from the global platform.
SAI Platform's new website is now fully functional. Its design is attractive, it is easier to navigate and it allows members to share documents and thoughts in a special section named 'Members Community'. Please give it a try and upload interesting documents or news so that other members can see them too and react – and vice-versa. Recent posts from members open for discussion include 'DDT comeback?' and 'Check out ecolabelling.org' - see www.saiplatform.org/members - The Working Group Dairy has commissioned a study to compare methodologies to measure GHG emissions at farm level. The study's draft report is already available on our website. It will be reviewed at a workshop to be held in Amsterdam on Jan. 26-27 - and related documents will be posted on the website soon after that. - Within the Working Group Water and Agriculture (WGWA), member companies recently shared presentations on their corporate approaches and pilot projects relating to water protection. All presentations are available on the WGWA's website section. A new SAI Platform intern, Mr Lucien Ruffino, is now helping the group explore the hot issue of 'water footprint'. - Registration is now open for the 18-20 March conference entitled 'Growing a 21st Century Agriculture Revolution' – organized near Washington DC by the SAI Platform, the Sustainable Food Lab and the Keystone Centre. To learn more about members' discounts and free registration fee (limited), visit www.saiplatform.org |
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Australian Sustainability News | |||
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How will the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme affect industry?
In October 2008 The Federal Treasurer and the Minister for Climate Change and Water released a report (Australia's Low Pollution Future - The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation) containing the results of modelling of the likely economic impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ('mitigation policies'), particularly the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). A brief paper was prepared for SAI Platform Members that summarises the key assumptions and results of the Treasury modelling report. This pointed out the positive and negative impacts as modeled for each industry for which data was released in the report. The Brief also noted the need for more detailed data on specific industries. The Brief was produced as part of the information clearing house function of the Platform whereby succinct summaries and analyses of large and complex materials relating to sustainability are produced for members' use. |
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Sustainable Sourcing Agricultural Raw Materials Summit
A conference was held in London on 21 and 22 January 2009 and attended by about 100 participants. Several of SAI Platform global members participated as speakers and SAI Platform Global had a stand - which attracted many people, including potential members as well as allies. Among the subjects covered, a general question was raised throughout the conference about whether sustainable agriculture drives prices up or should actually be cheaper. All presentations related to the conference are available on the conference's website: www.sustainable-sourcing-agricultural-raw-materials.com/ |
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Internet News | |||
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Sustainability/Environmental reports
A number of Sustainability/environmental reports have recently been released by members. The following are available on line. Kelloggs – 2008 Corporate Sustainability Report www.kelloggcompany.com/corporateresponsibility.aspx Fosters Group – 2008 Sustainability Report - www.fostersgroup.com/sustainability/SustainabilityReport2008/Intro.htm Grains Research and Development Corporation – 2008 Environmental Plan - www.grdc.com.au/director/events/grdcpublications/grainsenvironmentalplan Nestle (Australia) – Corporate Sustainability Review - www.nestle.com.au/NR/rdonlyres/A37FEDEA-2A23-49AD-BDBD-E08B32D3F993/59480/nestle_corporate_sustainability_review.pdf Goodman Fielder – Energy Efficiency Opportunties Program Public Report (Dec 2008). www.goodmanfielder.com.au/environment/Goodman%20Fielder%20EEO%20Public%20Report%202008.pdf Australian Pork Limited – Annual Report 2007/2008 – contains a section on managing sustainability risks. www.australianpork.com.au/pages/images/PORK%2012566%20AnnRep%2007-08%20Cover&Internals%20WEB%20V1.pdf |
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