COMPASS: HELPING QUEENSLAND AND NEW SOUTH WALES’ CANE GROWERS MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

The Queensland and New South Wales sugar industry is embarking on a new era in improved environmental management with the launch of the first COMPASS Workshops for cane growers in February 2002. (COMPASS stands for COMbining Profitability And Sustainability in Sugar). The COMPASS program was developed with SRDC funding by a steering committee comprising growers, industry representatives, and the Environmental Protection Agency. At the heart of the COMPASS program is the COMPASS Self Assessment Workbook, which growers use to rank their current farming practices in line with the industry’s Code of Practice for Sustainable Cane Growing and other Best Practice guidelines. Completion of this workbook in a grouptraining workshop allows growers to clearly identify their obligations under the Environmental Protection Act, as well as any areas where improvements can be made in the profitability and sustainability of their operations. This paper discusses the history of the COMPASS initiative and explains the consultative approach used in its development, the delivery of the program to cane growers, and its future role in building confidence in the environmental performance of the sugar industry.