THE Australian dairy industry has been recognised for its ongoing commitment to sustainability at the Banksia Sustainability Awards held in Sydney last week.
The Australian dairy industry was presented with the Food for Sustainable Thought award and was a finalist for the Natural Capital Award for work achieved under its Sustainability Framework.
The Sustainability Framework was developed to enhance livelihoods across the industry, improve community and animal wellbeing, and reduce environmental impact.
It contains 11 targets for 2020 and 41 measures against which performance can be tracked, and was developed following extensive consultation with industry as well as customers, interest groups, suppliers and government.
Sustainability Framework steering committee chairman Chris Griffin accepted the award on behalf of the industry.
“The Australian dairy industry is committed to achieving ongoing improvement to ensure a sustainable future for the next generation of farmers and dairy consumers,” Mr Griffin said.
“We thank the Banksia Foundation and the judges involved for recognising our commitment to a sustainable future and our progress so far.”
An important part of the Australian dairy industry implementing the framework is for customers and the community to follow our performance and progress, Mr Griffin said.
“We welcome the opportunity to share the evidence of our progress against key targets on our farms and in the manufacturing sector.”
Dairy Australia managing director Ian Halliday said the Sustainability Framework made the industry’s performance more transparent and ensured there was genuine evidence to support all claims of improvement.
“We continue to look for improvements and welcome feedback from the community at all times.”
The Sustainability Framework is an initiative of the Australian Dairy Industry Council, the dairy industry’s peak policy organisation which represents all sectors of the industry through its two constituent bodies, Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) and the Australian Dairy Products Federation (ADPF).
The ADIC is supported by Dairy Australia (DA), the national services body for the Australian dairy industry.
The Banksia Sustainability Awards recognise Australian individuals, communities, businesses and government for their innovation, achievement and commitment to sustainability.
The awards are run by the non-for-profit Banksia Foundation, which is dedicated to working with industry and community to focus attention on the recognition of excellence in sustainability.
