SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Manildra Group has innovated and reinvested in its sustainably certified production processes of adding value to 100% of its wheat grain throughout 2024 in its efforts to reach a zero-waste circular economy, according to the company’s 2024 sustainability report.

“Sustainability is the core value driving everything we do,” said John Honan, managing director of Manildra Group. “It’s reflected in our commitment to protecting the environment while strengthening rural and regional communities, enabling our people to engage in meaningful careers, and our suppliers and customers to prosper.”

Decarbonization (the process of reducing or eliminating carbon emissions from various sectors of the economy) was another major goal for Manildra in 2024. The company partnered with the New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to create transformative industry projects (TIP) meant to explore decarbonization opportunities and address challenges at the advanced manufacturing site in Shoalhaven Starches throughout 2023 and 2024. Co-funded with a $190,000 grant, the TIP initiative also helps Manildra advance toward Australia’s net-zero emission targets by 2050.

“The scoping study conducted by global Australian consultants GHD, focused on cutting-edge clean technologies to help reduce emissions — providing Manildra Group with actionable insights to accelerate decarbonization efforts while supporting the creation of an innovative and thriving low-carbon economy,” the report said.

The TIP study found that biomass boilers and 100% hydrogen imports are the only scalable pathways for significant decarbonization at Shoalhaven Starches, but they come with many challenges, including substantial logistical barriers in sourcing and transporting biomass, industry immaturity, pricing uncertainty, and developmental barriers associated with hydrogen importation.

“Despite these challenges, the TIP scoping study provided valuable insights into our ongoing decarbonization journey,” the report said. “Manildra Group shared the findings with project partners through a formal workshop and presentation, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to decarbonization efforts toward achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Manildra also invested $110 million in heat recovery projects at Shoalhaven Starches as it continues to “future-proof” its advanced manufacturing capabilities to reach Australia’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050, the report said.

“Supported by a $44.5 million grant through the industrial Safeguard Transformation Stream of the Australian Government’s Powering the Regions Fund, Manildra Group is proud to contribute to the future of high-quality, low-emissions Australian products as a pioneer in sustainably integrated advanced manufacturing,” Manildra said.

Set to go into effect in 2027, the company’s heat recovery initiatives aim to reduce more than 95,000 tonnes of its CO₂-equivalent emissions per year, comparable to removing more than 47,000 cars from the road, and will significantly lower natural gas demand through energy efficiency upgrades in heat recovery and infrastructure improvements, the report said.

“Creating more than 80 jobs during construction from 2025, and securing 510 employees onsite, the transformative heat recovery projects support Manildra Group’s customers in advancing their Scope 3 CO₂ emission goals, in keeping with our obligations under the Australian Government’s Safeguard Mechanism legislation and policy framework,” Manildra said.

Similarly, Manildra said ethanol production has been tied to its sustainability goals since 1992. The company’s ethanol production at Shoalhaven Starches has become critical in decarbonizing transport solutions, which include cleaner petrol blends at the bowser and low-carbon biofuels for hard-to-abate trucking, shipping and aviation sectors, the report said. The solutions are part of the company’s efforts to reach its net-zero emissions target.

“Providing a pathway to decarbonizing transportation, ethanol-blended biofuels offer an effective and immediate solution to significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other engine exhaust pollutants harmful to the health of people and the planet…,” the report said.

The report also discussed a Bioenergy Australia study conducted between 2022 and 2023, which found that carbon dioxide emissions reductions would be the equivalent of taking 730,000 cars off the road if 6% of Australia’s petrol was replaced with ethanol.

“As technology advances in fuel efficiencies and systems, sustainable Australian ethanol offers increasing potential for vehicle performance and fuel economy, with lower GHG and tailpipe emissions impacting both local air quality and atmospheric climate change,” the report said.

Manildra also is continuing to support wheat farmers with its reinvestment in high-capacity storage sites and advanced regional manufacturing facilities, the report said.

“Partnering with thousands of Australian farming families, our premium products are made from the finest local wheat, underpinned by sustainable agronomic systems and zero-waste advanced manufacturing,” said Peter Sloan, head wheat buyer at Manildra.