Cotton Australia: a sustainable cotton industry

Sustainability for the Australian cotton industry means running profitable and efficient businesses while creating environmental, economic and social value. It also means being accountable to stakeholders for the industry’s actions and impacts. The Australian cotton industry has been actively working to do this for over 30 years.

Now, the industry is seeking to improve even more as it works to its vision of being a global leader in sustainable cotton production. An Australian cotton sustainability framework called PLANET. PEOPLE. PADDOCK. has been created to guide work to: set sustainability targets in the areas most important to industry and stakeholders; coordinate a whole-of-industry strategy to achieve these targets; and engage effectively with stakeholders on actions and progress.

Through a process of consultation and review, eight environmental, economic and social topics have been assessed as being most important to customers, cotton growers, industry organisations, regional communities and other stakeholders. Each topic aligns with relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). In regards to waterway health and the environment, the topics of most importance include: water, less drops per crop; carbon, acting on climate change; biodiversity, benefiting from biodiversity; and pesticides, efficient responsible pesticide use.

Australian cotton has the reputation of being the most water efficient cotton industry in the world, thanks to biotechnology and advances in precision irrigation and timing. Long-term monitoring shows the cotton industry’s significant improvements in water efficiency over time. Water-use productivity by Australian cotton growers improved by 48 per cent since 1992.

As custodians of large blocks of land, cotton growers play a role in managing Australia’s natural resources and environment. For example, cotton growers boost their water use efficiency, improve soil health, fence off remnant vegetation, practice no-till farming and integrated pest management, and strive to become
more efficient across the farming operation. All this is done with a combination of cutting-edge science and technology, extensive experience, and significant investments of time and money.