The 2023 Agsafe Stewardship Conference and Awards were recently held at Sea World Resort on the Gold Coast. This second iteration of the event saw over 130 agvet industry professionals attending the three days of stewardship related activities, presentations and professional development.
The event began with delegates visiting the SCHÜTZ Australia IBC packaging facility in Yatala. Hosted by SCHUTZ managing director Alan Barham, guests were given an exclusive opportunity to witness the entire manufacturing and assembly process of Ecobulk IBCs.
SCHÜTZ showcased its reconditioning line, providing insights into their commitment to sustainability and resource efficiency. SCHÜTZ hosted delegates to an informal luncheon that was very well received.
Following the field trip, delegates attended a networking cocktail welcome event hosted by Elders. Elders/AIRR chief operating officer and Agsafe board member, Peter Lourey. Agsafe general manager Dominique Doyle welcomed guests to the function, and the official start of the conference.
During the event Ms Doyle said, “In this room, we are surrounded by a tapestry of diverse experiences, cultures, and expertise. As I look around, I see faces that have travelled far, fuelled by a strong commitment to industry stewardship and safety throughout the agvet supply chain.”
Day two of the conference saw industry and guest speakers present on various aspects of agricultural stewardship.
The conference proceedings started with an address by Sue Bestow, senior policy adviser from the Office of the National Soils Advocate, on behalf of The Hon Penelope Wensley AC, whose role is to elevate soil health to a level of national significance.
The position of Advocate was established to raise awareness of the vital role soils play and to provide strong leadership and advocacy on the importance of conserving and improving the health of Australia’s soils. Ms Bestow challenged those in attendance to consider that “soil is a resource”.
The Office of the National Soils Advocate contributes to the national objective of protecting, restoring and maintaining the health of the Australian agricultural landscape, to enhance productivity, guarantee a food secure nation and sustainable farming communities.
CropLife Australia CEO Matthew Cossey presented a global perspective on industry stewardship and science-based regulation and the important role stewardship has in agriculture.
“It cannot be overstated how important stewardship is – to produce food and fibre in a sustainable, efficient and profitable manner, to protect our priceless natural environment and ensure ongoing community confidence in farming,” Mr Cossey said.
Next up was Dr Michael Logan, director research and scientific branch (RSB), Queensland Fire and Emergency Services. Dr Logan leads a team that provides expertise to manage hazardous materials and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies across Queensland, New Zealand, Northern Territory, and other jurisdictions.
The conference heard that the RSB provides this expertise for three incidents every two days. Dr Logan said business risks include community, environment and reputation, and that an emergency plan must be fit the business purposes.
Dr Logan said planning ahead means being prepared. The expertise offered to assure the safety of responders, community and the environment ranges from identifying and characterising hazards, selection of personal protective equipment, decontamination, community and environmental protection strategies, to mitigation of the threats.
Changes to the Australian Dangerous Goods Code were presented and discussed with delegates, with an information session hosted by Debra Kirk, manager, legislative reform from the National Transport Commission. Two of the changes to the Code that were highlighted include changes to certified load restraint curtain systems: 8.1.3.2 – which has been amended to allow the use of a Certified Load Restraint Curtain System as an alternative to gates.
Delegates were also provided a copy of the Australian and New Zealand Emergency Response Guide, which has superseded the HB:76 Emergency Response Guide.
Ms Kirk told delegates that the controls in place must be appropriate to the level of risk.
Tim Kaliyanda from Licella Holdings presented the recycling solutions that Licella is developing to address the ‘broken’ economics of plastic recycling in Australia. He said when fully operational, Licella will be able to recycle 120,000 tonnes of mixed plastics with the CatHRT technology.
Jodie Kerr, business sales manager at SCHÜTZ Australia presented a workshop on SCHÜTZ’s sustainability practices, developed through continuous investment in advanced technologies, innovative products and services.
“For us, sustainability also encompasses all the advantages and services we offer our customers,” she said. The presentation also provided a snapshot of the free ticketing system for the reconditioning of IBCs (SCHÜTZ is the world’s largest reconditioner of IBCs), which complies with the highest environmental and safety standards.
Over the last six years, SCHÜTZ has invested over $10m in recycling processes, technology and infrastructure, collecting IBCs from over 1700 sites across Australia.
The message to delegates was to ensure that farmers and chemical users are encouraged to maximise the product left in IBCs (rather than this product being wasted). Agsafe will continue to work with IBC recyclers to ensure that returnable programs are accessible to rural and regional stakeholders.
The evening hosted the Agsafe Stewardship Awards which included some very deserving and popular category winners being announced (See separate report).
The final day of the conference was divided into two streams:
- Agsafe workshops and the Regulator Panel for Agsafe trainers and facilitators, and the Agsafe Industry Reference Group meeting
- Stewardship stream with information and updates on Agsafe’s stewardship programs drumMUSTER, ChemClear and bagMUSTER.
To close the Agsafe Stewardship conference, Ms Lowing from Effective Communications provided a conference summary to delegates and thanked all those in attendance for their continued contribution to stewardship within the agriculture industry.
Planning now begins for the next event in 2025 to build on a highly successful 2023 Agsafe Conference and Stewardship Awards event.
Our thanks to Richard Boyce – Agsafe Communications officer for compiling these reports.
