Status: To be commenced in 2009/10.

Research provider – name & contact details
To be confirmed

Start & finish dates for project
August 2009 – August 2011

What is the project?

This project will build on the work already completed by Houston’s Farm to modify their carbon footprinting tool for the wider vegetable industry. The project will involve the development, release and adoption of the vegetable carbon calculation tool for the Australian Vegetable Industry by 2011.

Why are we doing it?

The Horticulture Across-Industry Management Committee, Future Focus process and HAL Environment Portfolio have all identified the need for an across-industry approach to the development of an accounting tool. Many other agricultural industries and industry businesses are already down the path of developing the tool. However, the Australian Horticulture industry, and specifically the vegetable industry, does not currently have a nationally-relevant carbon accounting tool.

A business-specific accounting tool has been developed as part of Stage 1 of the development of a vegetable carbon footprinting tool – through the project VG07195: Environmental footprint analysis of salad producer for development of an industry greenhouse gas calculation tool [insert hyperlink to Tab 6.7].

Houston’s Farm has been very proactive in this area – proposing the use of a Woolworth’s Innovation Grant to gain matching funding to develop an accounting tool in collaboration with HAL, industry and scientific community. Over 18 months Houston’s Farm in conjunction with technical experts, industry members and HAL undertook a desktop study of existing accounting tools, an analysis of the Houston’s Farm greenhouse gas emissions and used the information to develop a model for carbon accounting. This project is an example of an innovative leader being proactive in an emerging area.

This project was the first of its kind funded through HAL and has allowed for other industries to benefit without initial investment. It is now appropriate for levy money to be utilized to tailor the accounting tool to other types of vegetable businesses located across Australia. A requirement of the HAL matched Government funding for Houston’s project was that any tool that they developed needed to be able to be made applicable to the wider vegetable industry.

 VG07195 was recently completed (May 2009) and the Houston’s Footprinting Tool made available to HAL for this second stage of the work.

How will we do it?

Over 24 months this project will modify and adapt the previously developed Houston’s Farm Carbon Footprinting Tool for the national vegetable industry; design a relevant, practical and flexible online interface for the tool; develop the manual and training materials for the tool; undertake preliminary trialling of tool with growers and retailers; and run a series of educational seminars with growers on carbon-related information and training in the use of the tool.

Project Partners