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Program Overview
Sustainable Grain Australia (SGA) provides a ‘one stop shop’ for growers, enabling you to complete a single ‘SGA Grower Sustainability Declaration’ online through the National Grower Register (NGR), and providing guidance and support when your farm is subject to an audit.
The ‘SGA Grower Sustainability Declaration’ confirms that the farm operates in a manner consistent with ISCC sustainability requirements. It is important that growers fully appreciate their obligations when completing the declaration as the down-stream commercial transaction rely on the declaration, and farms will be subject to audit to affirm the Sustainability Declaration components are accurate.
The SGA Central Office will assist growers that are subject to audit to facilitate a smooth and effective audit process.
As most canola traders operate under the SGA Central Office scheme, SGA provides the simplicity that growers only need to complete one grower declaration form, which all SGA traders can access through National Grower Register (NGR).
Canola
The end-user market for canola oil and meal is increasingly seeking assurances that the canola is grown in a sustainable manner. The ISCC-EU certification scheme provides this assurance, and enables Australian grain growers to access markets that will only accept certified sustainable canola. The first major market to enforce sustainability requirements was the EU market, where EU Renewable Energy Directive (2009) stipulated the sustainability requirements of bioenergy feedstocks, such as canola. Beyond bioenergy, food and feed suppliers are increasingly requiring their agricultural inputs to be certified as sustainable. The Sustainable Grains Australia program provides an easy, ‘one-stop-shop’ to enable Australian growers to supply certified sustainable canola to the fuel, food and feed markets.
Barley
Beginning in 2020, the inclusion of barley in the Sustainable Grains Australia program has enabled Australian barley growers the access the growing market for beer and malt-based spirits where sustainability is a requirement. Many international brewers and maltsters are members of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) and can achieve ‘Silver’ status with SAI for their malt inputs by sourcing ISCC-EU certified malt through the Sustainable Grains Australia program. Many of the traders participating in the Sustainable Grain Australia program are seeking barley certified as sustainable, so growers should contact an SGA-participating buyer if they wish to supply ISCC EU certified sustainable barley.
Wheat, Pulses and Other Grains
Depending on market and end-user requirements, Sustainable Grain Australia is planning to extend the SGA process to other broadacre crops.
With ISCC-EU certification recognised as equivalent to ‘Silver Status’ within the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, local and global food and beverage manufacturers are able to access high quality certified sustainable Australian canola and barley with confidence knowing that it is certified through a globally recognised scheme. As more food, feed and beverage manufacturers commit to the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, so too demand for certified sustainable agricultural inputs such as wheat, oats, rice and pulses will grow. The Sustainable Grain Australia scheme is well positioned to capitalise on this trend and will expand the program to other grains accordingly.