Grain growers at three locations across South Australia and Victoria are invited to attend upcoming workshops to be audit ready for International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme. ISCC is required to access premium markets.
As global supply chains tighten sustainability requirements, and domestic customers seek sustainability assurances, ISCC certification is increasingly influencing grain marketing pathways. Export customers in the European Union and some niche domestic processors are seeking verified low-risk, traceable grain. For growers, this presents an opportunity to access to premium markets, reduce risk of price discounts, and ensure strong positioning with traders managing compliance obligations.
Technical Director of Commodity Risk Management at Pinion Advisory, Chris Heinjus says “With a significant price premium for ISCC accredited canola to export markets, and a good seasonal outlook, getting involved has a big upside and very little downside or costs in comparison. ISCC accredited canola is looking to receive a premium of $30-80 per tonne this year, at an average yield of 2 t/ha, that is $60-$160 per hectare that would more than cover the cost of implementing ISCC on farm. These types of sustainability schemes are market driven, unlikely to go away. Getting to these workshops are a good opportunity to maximise your on farm gross margins”.
The practical three-part workshop series will step through how to get ISCC ready, with a focus on crunching the numbers on profit, reducing the paperwork and your risk of non-compliance. “Hoping for the best is not a strategy. These workshops are for growers who have been ticking boxes without really knowing what they have signed up for”, says Chris. The sessions will clarify expectations and highlight simple systems that integrate with existing farm management practices.
Chris also stresses, “Most growers are already doing north of 70% of what is necessary to be ISCC ready. With the missing things only likely to improve the business risks in terms of health and safety, business management or management of the farm’s natural assets.”
For growers considering future export pathways or wishing to safeguard existing contracts, these workshops provide timely, commercially focused guidance on turning sustainability credentials into tangible market advantage.
The three-part workshop series will be held in the Horsham, Clare and Cummins districts. At the end of training growers will follow a process to be ISCC ready by October 2026.
The workshop series is part of the ISCC awareness for growers project, an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). It is led by Pinion Advisory in collaboration with Grain Producers SA (GPSA) in South Australia.
Workshop dates and further information
