P.PSH.1217 - Development of a carbon neutral strategy in a commercial context
The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCO) has a long-term record of commitment to sustainability, including reducing emissions and sequestering carbon.
| Project start date: | 30 October 2019 |
| Project end date: | 20 April 2024 |
| Publication date: | 20 May 2024 |
| Project status: | Completed |
| Livestock species: | Grain-fed Cattle, Grass-fed Cattle |
| Relevant regions: | Northern Australia |
Summary
The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCO) is one of Australia’s oldest companies, largest landholders and biggest beef producers. The company has a long-term record of commitment to sustainability, including reducing emissions and sequestering carbon.
Objectives
As part of this project, a large number of mitigations (50 in total) were screened and classified based on mitigation potential, technical efficacy, suitability to the business and benefits/costs. A subset of six implementable options were short listed and extensively tested through desktop and in some cases, field trial work.
Key findings
Key strategies, such as roll-out of anti-methanogenic supplements at scale, were generally found to be less efficacious in a grazing context, and costs were higher than initially thought. Further, productivity benefits which were expected based on early research, were not supported by later research. This significantly changed the overall ambition of the strategy, as it became evident mitigation implementation is likely to be slower, higher cost and less beneficial to production than previously thought. Under the current productivity and financial risk assumptions, mitigation was generally a net cost to production.
Benefits to industry
To understand pathways to net emissions reduction at scale within a large beef enterprise.
MLA action
Final report will be published mid-year 2024 to reflect updated assumptions on impact, efficacy and cost of interventions, as well as availability of incentive structures.
Future research
Implementing realistic, costed and yet ambitious strategies for emission reduction is a challenge for the beef industry progressing towards 2030 and beyond. This project highlighted the need for stability in adoption incentive schemes (ERF) to encourage industry confidence to invest in mitigation strategies at scale, particularly when there are significant added costs to production. These actions may also create downward cost pressure for providers of commercial interventions over time. Being a rapidly evolving space, costs of adoption have changed over the course of the project and a revised report reflecting more current risk and pricing will be published mid-2024.
More information
| Project manager: | Margaret Jewell |
| Contact email: | reports@mla.com.au |
| Primary researcher: | The North Australian Pastoral Company Pty Ltd |
