Farmer to food or farmer to fuel? Why not both?

Did you know that the amount of renewable fuel produced from a 50,000 tonne shipment of renewable feedstocks could reduce CO2 emissions by up to 130,000 tonnes, compared to that of petroleum diesel?

That’s the equivalent of removing 28,000 cars from the roads.

With the world demanding energy diversity, agriculture has a big role to play – and GrainCorp is one of the best positioned companies to capture the rapidly expanding global renewable energy market.

GrainCorp is the largest exporter of tallow and used cooking oil (UCO) – key renewable feedstocks – across Australia and New Zealand, with portside storage assets in both countries.

On top of that, GrainCorp is the largest crusher of canola in Australia, through two crushing plants at Numurkah, in Victoria, and Pinjarra, in Western Australia.

Canola oil is increasingly being used in biofuel production because it’s a low-carbon, sustainable and renewable resource – and it’s abundant in supply.

Enter: GrainCorp Agri-Energy.

This refers to a core expertise area of GrainCorp that brings together the work being done in tallow trading, UCO collection and canola crushing, to supply feedstocks that service the renewable energy sector.

And with the demand for renewable energy at its greatest ever, the GrainCorp Agri-Energy team is keeping GrainCorp’s sustainability roadmap alive and real.

GrainCorp Head of Agri-Energy, Jeff Summerville, says: “GrainCorp’s large logistics and storage network, crushing and refining facilities coupled with its access to many agricultural resources are key enablers for our Agri-Energy businesses in the sustainability space.

“It’s because of this already established footprint and our depth of experience that we’ve been supplying the renewable fuel sector for some time – and that’s our key point of difference in the market.

“Not many companies can offer a full range of feedstocks to end-users and boast they are the biggest tallow exporter, UCO upcycler and canola crusher within a region, but we are all three in ANZ.”

Jeff Summerville, GrainCorp Head of Agri-Energy

Take GrainCorp’s UCO collectors and upcyclers, Auscol.

Auscol is a key player in GrainCorp Agri-Energy, specialising in the collection and recycling of UCO that would otherwise contribute to the pollution of our waterways.

It services approximately 5000 fast food outlets across Australia, including your local KFC, and collects and upcycles 24+ million litres of UCO per annum.

And the best part? It’s all recycled for renewable fuel production.

Whether it’s the collection of UCO for upcycling into renewable fuel or supplying certified, sustainable canola to domestic and international markets, GrainCorp is actively committed to growing these core areas of its Agri-Energy business through sustainable products and practices.

Jeff continues: “Our Agri-Energy team will continue to leverage our existing assets, depth of experience and capabilities to create renewable energy opportunities that can help with identifying, defining, measuring and, importantly, reducing emissions.

“All of this is helping to build our broader renewable energy strategy, which forms a key part of our sustainability goals.”

Read more about GrainCorp’s ESG Roadmap in the 2022 Sustainability Report: https://www.graincorp.com.au/fy22-sustainability-report/.