Focused on ensuring a
Sustainable future
At Mackay Sugar, our purpose is to create value, sustainably, from grower to consumer. This means that we strive for sustainability across all areas, including environmental, regional, financial and operational sustainability.
Few foodstuffs are produced more sustainably than our sugar; our ‘nothing is wasted’ business approach displays our dedication to not only creating a profitable future for our stakeholders, but also a sustainable future for generations to come.
The sugar cane we use in our factories is grown locally and transported short distances, providing an almost entirely circular economy for the industry in our region. In addition to using the sugar cane by-product (Bagasse) to generate electricity for our mills and to power our community, even the waste products from the milling process such as mill mud and ash are reused by local growers on next season crops.
We also align with our parent company, Nordzucker Group, in striving for climate neutrality through Science Based Targets Initiatives (SBTi) and thereby pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to a transparent and traceable target.
Local leaders in the production of green energy.
Sustainable Cogeneration
Located at Racecourse Mill, our Cogeneration Plant harnesses sugar cane waste to generate steam and electricity, meeting the energy needs of the factory, the adjacent raw sugar refinery, and about one-third of the Mackay region's annual electricity demand. This translates to enough electricity to power approximately 20,000 households, totalling around 115,000MWh annually.
Bagasse, the residual fibre from the sugar milling process, is used as a biofuel for the Cogeneration Plant’s steam boiler. This waste product is sourced from cane fields, and any carbon dioxide emissions generated during the combustion process are offset by the absorption of new season crops, ensuring a circular carbon cycle.
During the sugar crushing season (June to December), approximately 220,000 tons of surplus bagasse from Mackay Sugar mills are stockpiled for use in the non-crush season, ensuring a continuous energy supply for our factories and Sugar Australia’s co-located refinery. Through meticulous management and the utilisation of bagasse, Mackay Sugar’s Cogeneration Plant produces electricity that is nearly carbon-neutral, making it a highly efficient form of biomass green energy for the region.
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A strong focus on environmental protection
Sustainable Environment
Mackay Sugar has a strong focus on environmental protection and sustainability and ensuring that our operations do not adversely impact the environment – after all, we live here too and we’re proud of our landscape and lifestyle. Whilst we adhere to our own environmental policies and processes, our activities are also governed by legislative obligations as well as community expectations.
We use our Environmental Management System (EMS) to ensure compliance and to encourage continuous improvement leading to better environmental performance and outcomes. Through the application of environmental programs and legislative tools, we continue to develop our operational standards. We strive to reduce our footprint and minimise our impact on the environment and community.
Mackay Sugar has an Environmental Authority which includes modern environmental licence conditions, and this allows the Department of Environment and Science (DES) to better regulate our activities, giving Mackay Sugar the opportunity to manage our environmental exposures effectively in line with current practices.
Dedicated to creating a sustainable future
Sustainable Cane Farming
At Mackay Sugar, we are dedicated to creating a sustainable future for our industry through an expanded supply of cane across the region. This includes finding innovative, modern and ethical approaches to increasing the volume of land under cane production as well as driving higher yields from locally grown sugar cane.
We have a dedicated Productivity team that’s focused on working alongside local, related industry bodies to source and sustain initiatives that will assist growers in producing higher yields from sugar cane, whilst also helping to secure cane for the future. Some of the local organisations we work with include:
MAPS (Mackay Area Productivity Services)
SRA (Sugar Research Australia)
Farmacist
CANEGROWERS Mackay
In addition to partnering with local sugar cane related organisations, we work closely with growers to encourage and promote good farming practices. We firmly believe that creating sustainable relationships is key to the future of sugar cane production. We also celebrate the outstanding achievements of local growers annually as part of the Mackay Sugar Productivity Awards. As part of this awards program, we recognize excellence in key categories, including;
Highest tonnes of sugar per hectare – per mill area
Harvesting Group Awards (greater than 40,000t and less than 40,000t)
Sustainable Farming Practices Award
Research Excellence Award
Innovation and Technology Award
Promising Grower Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Our local economy and community
Sustainable Community
At Mackay Sugar, we know that creating value sustainably, extends far beyond our economic contribution. As an intrinsic part of the Mackay landscape, we are proud of our long history in the region. We also know that as a major employer and by being in direct partnership with local sugar cane growers, we have a social responsibility to promote and support a sustainable sugar cane future for Mackay.
Every year, we contribute significantly to our local economy and community, providing more than $150,000 to local charities and organisations that strive to make a difference for the people who live and work here, and that align to our purpose, vision, values and themes around sustainability, growth and excellence. We also provide financial and in-kind support to a large variety of community groups who aim to showcase and celebrate the sugar cane industry in Mackay, and we look forward to reinvigorating Mackay as “THE Sugar City”.
In addition to our corporate programs, our employees show their genuine support for our community each year by participating in several fundraising initiatives and local campaigns to raise awareness of key community issues, some of which include mental health and suicide prevention, homelessness, animal welfare, domestic violence and more.
Thinking global. Acting local.
Sustainable Sugar Uses
At Mackay Sugar, our commitment to thinking globally and acting locally means recognising the increasing trend towards greener, more sustainable products and packaging, and identifying how we can regionalise these opportunities for the benefit of our industry.
We know that finding alternate uses for sugar – such as green energy, bioplastics, biofuels and food proteins – is a critical part of creating sustainability, and we proactively seek out, design and deliver initiatives with the potential to create value in these areas.
We also invite like-minded organisations to work alongside us in creating a sustainable future through sugar cane. For example, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have co-located their biofuel research plant at our Racecourse Mill site so that together we can share resources and knowledge for finding greener alternatives for aviation fuel.
