LEVERAGING REGULATION FOR INDUSTRY GAIN: NGERS GUIDELINES FOR SUGAR MILLS

THE NATURE OF sugar milling means that mills are subject to numerous forms of regulatory compliance. The challenge for every company is to look beyond the burden of compliance and investigate the opportunity associated with improved data harvesting. More critically perhaps, is the need to develop consistency across an industry. As part of complying with the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act (2007), the Australian sugar milling industry took an industry-aligned approach to reporting, developed in collaboration with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). This approach was deliberate – consistent reporting across the industry reduces the auditing risk to individual companies, while managing government expectations through a shared understanding. However, the data collected through this process have also enabled milling companies to efficiently leverage government funding opportunities to enhance energy efficiency and upgrade cogeneration infrastructure, and facilitated policy advocacy around electricity and renewable energy. The data have also underpinned internal assessment of energy usage and options to reduce energy costs. The industry-aligned approach commenced with a reporting template that has evolved into the NGERS guidelines for sugar mills. This living document is a key training tool across the industry for company NGERS reporting, and NGERS auditors, the majority of whom are unfamiliar with the complexities of sugar milling. It includes the reporting template and more technical information on calculation of the bagasse produced during the season. It will continue to be a living document that enables NGERs reporting to be as correct and consistent as possible across the sugar milling industry, reducing the audit and compliance risk for mills.