Challenge 

The Australian Government has committed to Net Zero Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050, with an interim goal of 43% emission reduction by 2030. However, businesses within the nursery industry currently lack benchmarking tools to measure their performance in energy and resource efficiency. As a result, they are unaware of their standing relative to industry peers and national sustainability targets. 

The Australian Nursery industry has recognised the need for a sustainability program to enhance best management practices (BMPs) in climate change adaptation, waste management and recycling, water and energy efficiency, and overall environmental management. This need is reflected in Outcome 2 of the Australian Nursery industry Strategic Investment Plan (2022-2026).  

Response 

This project will establish a system that enables individual nursery businesses to benchmark their performance against an industry average. This benchmarking will allow the industry, and individual growers, to identify key areas for improvement and develop targeted sustainability strategies.  

The project will engage the Australian Nursery Industry to measure Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions, select Scope 3 emissions, and other key environmental impacts. It will develop performance benchmarks and provide the industry with a tool to compare individual nursery performance against these benchmarks.  

Key activities include:  

Outputs  

Benefit  

Benchmarking data will be valuable for internal communication with business owners, investors, and staff, as well as for external communication to position the industry as a leader in sustainability.  

The project will contribute to:  

By benchmarking environmental performance against best practices, the nursery industry will gain a clearer understanding of its impact and opportunities for improvement. This will enable nurseries to adopt more sustainable practices, enhancing profitability and efficiency.