What was it all about?

This project gave the Australian nursery industry a consistent way to measure and improve environmental performance through an industry-wide life cycle assessment (LCA) and benchmarking tool. Before this work, growers lacked a reliable benchmark to compare their performance against industry averages and understand where improvements could be made. The assessment examined key sustainability indicators across nursery production, including carbon emissions, water use, energy use, waste and recycling.  

Working with Australian nurseries, researchers collected 12 months of production data to develop an industry-wide environmental benchmark. The assessment identified the main contributors to environmental impacts, including packaging materials, electricity use, fuel consumption and growing media. These findings give growers greater clarity about the industry's environmental hotspots and opportunities to reduce impacts.  

Key outputs included an industry-average LCA report and a Microsoft Excel benchmarking tool. Together, these resources provide a baseline for the Australian nursery industry and allow growers to assess their own greenhouse gas emissions against industry averages.  

The project provides growers with a practical way to identify emission hotspots and track performance over time. The findings highlighted opportunities to improve packaging, increase renewable energy use and reduce fossil fuel consumption. These resources are expected to support ongoing sustainability improvements across the nursery industry. 

ACT NOW

Download the LCA report here.