Environmental Management Systems in Agriculture Newsletter

Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation

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Workshop Newsletter Issue 3, July 1999

A regular newsletter produced by NSW Agriculture reporting research findings and activities which underpin the development of internationally acceptable accreditation systems for sustainable agricultural production, environment management and new agri-industry systems. Contributions are welcome. Contact: The Editor,Gavin Tinning, EMS in Agriculture Workshop Secretariat Ph (02) 66261139 Fax (02) 66283264 Email gavin.tinning@agric.nsw.gov.au or
Genevieve Carruthers: Ph: (02) 66261237 Fax (02) 66283264 Email genevieve.carruthers@agric.nsw.gov.au or

In the future Australian farmers will have to begin implementing
environmental management systems to substantiate their clean, green image

Environmental management systems (EMS) may become a condition of future market access for Australian agricultural commodities. This scenario was one of the main themes discussed by 160 industry delegates at the first national workshop on environmental management systems held in Ballina, in May. Farmers, representatives from farmer organisations, consumers, agricultural industries, certification bodies, retail sector and all levels of government gathered over three days in an attempt to network and develop a national strategy for EMS in Australian agriculture.

As organisers. it was satisfying for us to see the fruition of many months of hard work organising and promoting the workshop, enduring the ocassional hiccup and the frantic last-minute organisation as the idea became reality. Whilst the make-up of the participants didn’t satisfy everybody, it was quite a feat to have the range of people who were present. We really endeavoured to involve all stakeholders, and are grateful to those who made the effort to be involved.

So what did happen?

An intensive and diverse range of presentations from Australia and abroad, highlighted a growing need for farmers to demonstrate the sustainability of their farming practices, or face the risk of increased regulation and exclusion from a market increasingly requiring evidence of their good environmental practice. This trend was clearly demonstrated by Ian Finlayson of Sainsburys Supermarkets, who detailed the information Sainsburys require from suppliers to demonstrate the sustainable production of their fresh produce.

The overseas experiences presented by speakers from the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand provide useful examples to Australian agriculture as it moves toward more sustainable management on-farm. The success of the variety of approaches highlighted the flexibility of a systems approach and demonstrated that the task of managing the environmental impacts of agriculture is achievable.

Delegates’feedback indicated that participants learnt a great deal over the three days. A wide range in understanding of EMS was evident, with divergent views on just what constitutes an EMS and on how EMS should be driven and adopted. Many of the delegates have already arranged further discussions to examine ways in which they can can cooperate and utilise the information presented.

Delegates main point of consensus was that an inclusive process of connsultation, particularly with farmers and producer bodies, should drive any stategy for EMS. The current process of workshop delegates reporting back to their particular sector, should be the next step in communicating EMS to a wider audience. A number of papers and magazines have run commentaries and articles on the workshop, and interviews with some of the speakers.

Outcomes - p2 Benefits and Barriers of EMS - p3

Whilst many of the participants left the workshop wondering just how the diversity of views expressed during the workshop sessions could be translated into a strategy, the first steps towards agreement and acknowledgement on future directions were made in the final afternoon session. The 80 or so delegates who remained, sorted through a range of recommendations developed from a series of group workshop sessions held each day . Credit should be given to those who stuck with the task of providing tangible outcomes from a busy three days. Details on these sessions will appear in the proceedings, but for the moment here are the final outcomes.

Outcomes of the national workshop - environmental management
systems in agriculture: current issues future directions.

Preamble

Given Australia’s commitment to ecologically sustainable development and environmentally sustainable land management as documented in various national policies and strategies, and international agreements, Australian governments need to:identify ecological, social and economic indicators and set targets and timeframes, and, allow agricultural industries and businesses to choose their own strategies to achieve these targets. - support the development of EMS based on the following principles and recommendations.

Principles identified by workshop delegates for an effective EMS in Australian agriculture.

keep it simple, clear and achievable
voluntary, can be measured and
gives feed back for progress,
dynamic and evolving
partnership based
integrate with existing systems and processes
communicated and marketed upwards, dowwards and sideways
requires clearly defined purposes and objectives
industry led
credible and transparent to markets and users.

Agreed recommendations

1. That Environmental Management Systems, their purpose, objectives, roles and responsibilities be clearly defined.
2. That international and domestic case studies, market analysis and EMS processes be documented and distributed.
3. That benefits and costs of an EMS to enterprise owners and the environment be defined.
4. That a credible inclusive process of consultation be undertaken, managed by RIRDC, to establish the level of support for EMS and the form EMS should take.
5. Industry groups must drive this process forward and call on government to support partnerships to progress EMS.

All the responses made by delegates during the plenary and group sessions, along with the recommendations and principles identified by groups and the final plenary session, will be presented within the workshop proceedings. These will be available later in 1999, and will also be published on on the NSW Agriculture website - http:// www.agric.nsw.gov.au

We experienced some of the usual last minute program changes, so for the benefit of those who did not attend, here is a summary of the program.

Wednesday 26 May
Jason Alexandra - EMS for Australian Agriculture
Jeff Wilson, AgCare (Canada) - Environment Farm Plan , Farmers driving the process
Craig Hunter, OMAFRA (Canada) - Environment Farm Plan, Government supporting the process
Pat Crook, SGS - What is an EMS? - basic principles.
Bill Spencer, ACCB - Certification and Auditing - do you really need them?

Thursday 27 May
George Devrill, NASAA - Organic farming standards
Alan Williams, CRDC - BMP approach in the cotton industry
Richard Riddiford, Living Wine Group (NZ) - A group approach to ISO14001
Ron Watkins, LMS - Implementing whole farm planning
David Chambers, LMS - Whole Farm Monitoring Kit
Greg Lawson, DLWC - Indigenous land management
Peter Butcher, GMW - A corporation approach to EMS
Grant Pearce, Southcorp Wines - Implementing an EMS from farm to product

Friday 28 May
Neil Gunningham, ANU - Environmental partnerships and EMS
Gordon Ure, QAS - How green is my label?
Alister Lugsdin, MLA - What do our customers want?
Ian Finlayson, Sainsbury’s (UK) - EMS and fresh produce.
Di Dibley, Tirra Lirra Environmental Projects - Perceptions of EMS within the financial sector, and how this will affect farm financing.
Bob Douglas, NFF - Incentives and Taxation for the adoption of EMS, an NFF perspective.
Philip Ashton, Aubourn Farming Ltd (UK) - the LEAF Audit.

Potential benefits of adopting EMS

on- farm management tool
ability to self regulate
market advantage/ access
property value increases
reduction in liability
cost reduction/ increased profit
community/ consumer confidence
measureable achievements
continual improvement
increased environmental awareness
sustainable industries
positive environmental outcomes

Potential barriers to the adoption of EMS

lack of market focus/ market signals
lack of incentives
cost
insufficient guidelines for agriculture
gaps in education and training
lack of support
lack of agreement on indicators/ measurement and monitoring
apprehension over increased focus from regulators
increase in paperwork

Spotlight on EMS in practice. ISO 14001 chosen for forest certification.

ISO 14001 has been selected as the mechanism for implementing certification for all forests managed under the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) in Australia. The decision was made jointly by all state and federal environment and forests ministers. ISO 14001 was preferred over the alternative supplied by the forest stewardship council (FSC) which has a claim to having certified 15 million hectares around the world. The principal behind the decision to select ISO 14001 was that the integral environmental management system framework inherent to ISO 14001, encompassing a commitment to continual improvement will ensure a high level of compliance in the forest . Elements of the FSC process have been taken into account, however there was a preference for using the Montreal Criterion Indicators as the basis for determining the performance standards and hence measureability of the system. The systems approach is regarded as being crucial to the successful implementation of set goals, the results of which will determine the success or otherwise of the RFA’s. (source - National Forests and Timber May 1999 8( 3))

Some of the benefits and barriers identified by delegates during the workshop sessions are presented here. Investigating the benefits and tackling the barriers will form part of ongoing projects that seek to determine the suitability and practicality of EMS in agriculture.

Where to now?

It is clear that further consultation and discussion will be required to determine the direction EMS will take in relation to Australian agriculture Participants highlighted the importance of gaining the viewpoints of stakeholders who were not sufficiently represented at the workshop, and the need for broader consultation at the grass roots level of farming, crucial to the development of rural ownership of environmental management systems.

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation has agreed to manage a process of research based on the workshop outcomes. Crucial areas highlighted by participants include case studies, improved education and training, better links between researchers, and with farmer groups. It is envisaged that this newsletter will continue, providing updates on future developments

Thanks

As organisers of the EMS in Agriculture workshop Genevieve and myself would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the support given by all the workshop sponsors, the facilitators, especially Anne and Alison, our workmates who put up with our sporadic dominations of services, the Ballina RSL for hosting us so efficiently, and finally to all the delegates who made a worthwhile contribution.

Want more information on EMS ?

Where to start?

Guidebook to EMS
It is hoped that a soon to be produced guidebook to environmental management systems available to agriculture, will further assist farmers and others interested in comparing the range of potential systems available.

Review of EMS
An independent review of environmental management systems for Australian agriculture was recently completed and presented at the EMS in Agriculture workshop. Outlining many of the issues for EMS and the opportunities presented to agriculture, the author, Jason Alexandra, makes particular note of: the international implications of Australian agriculture being unable to substantiate its claims of being “clean and green”, outlines examples of systems approaches to managing forests and fisheries that have been applied in a range of situations, and, provides a comparison of the presently available systems that could be applied to agriculture.

Web sites of interest

Guelph Farming Systems: http:// www. oac. uoguelph. ca/ www/ FSR/
Globenet: http:// www. iso14000. net/
Farm A Syst: http:// www. wisc. edu/ farmasyst/

Still need more?

If you want to find out more about EMS, the workshop or any other of the issues raised in this newsletter, feel free to contact either:

Genevieve Carruthers
Ph: (02) 66261237 Fax (02) 66283264
Email genevieve.carruthers@agric.nsw.gov.au

Gavin Tinning

Ph (02) 66261139 Fax (02) 66283264
Email gavin.tinning@agric.nsw.gov.au

Disclaimer

The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing in March 1999. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the cuurency of the information with the appropriate offficer of New South Wales Department of Agriculture or the user’s independant advisor.

Recognising that some of the information in this document is provided by third parties, the State of New South Wales, the author and the publisher take no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of any information included in the document provided by third parties.

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