Momentum Commbank Sustainability Conference

Macka's Black AngusCommbankMomentumSustainable Agriculture

30 Mar

March 2023

“We need to inspire, we need to educate, and we need a clear pathway forward to help people understand the process” Robert Mackenzie, Director of Macka’s Black Angus

A panel on carbon markets highlighted their inherent complexity due to multiple jurisdictions and regulatory environments, as well as the terminology. But one thing is clear – there are significant opportunities in the market once the challenges of carbon credit sourcing, governance and transparency are satisfied. Businesses that buy carbon credits must also commit to their own transition journey. New South Wales cattle farmer Robert Mackenzie stole the stage, as he explained the story behind the carbon credits offered by his family’s near-neutral cattle station and beef export business.

Australia is in a unique position to build partnerships between businesses, investors and land owners to push decarbonisation at a large scale, said Alex Toone, CommBank’s Executive General Manager, Commodities, Trade and Carbon.

“We have unique land resources, coastal resources, and human resources,” Toone said. “We’re an entrepreneurial country. We love competing.”

So, what is holding Australia back? One hurdle is a lack of understanding on how to get involved.

“We need to inspire, we need to educate, and we need a clear pathway forward to help people understand the process,” said Robert Mackenzie, whose family business, Macka’s, raises Angus beef cattle sustainably on farms near Gloucester and Port Stephens in NSW.

Mackenzie said that there is interest in making agriculture a key provider of carbon credits. “But we still don’t have a clear pathway forward on how we become carbon neutral.”

Scaling different carbon capture methods needs to happen quickly and that is going to require legislative support, added de Wit.

“We have a huge opportunity to generate credits off the land either through agricultural activities or using our land mass. There is a huge opportunity in the future – as long as we can get the underlying framework and the rules right,” she said.