About us.
Founded in 2018, West Pine was born from a desire to challenge the status quo on food, fibre and energy production methods that cost the planet and impact the health and livelihoods of people and communities.
We believe that through innovation, collaboration and positive impact, we can rise to the challenge of producing more with less, all whilst making this one and precious world of ours a much better place to live for future generations.
West Pine has a firm focus on the triple bottom line. To us, financial, social and environmental outcomes are equally important. We’re committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and align our projects and collaborations with these principles.
Goals.
We have set ambitious targets to achieve by 2030. Whilst we have a long way to go, we know that small choices can have a big impact, and we’re committed to making positive change, one step at a time.
Carbon neutral.
We’re striving to be carbon neutral across all our farming, consulting and project business streams by 2030. We want to be carbon negative by 2035. We’ve started our journey this year by drawing baselines and understanding which of our activities have the worst carbon impact and have begun to implement changes to reduce our carbon emissions. We’ve also commenced research and investment into an exciting energy project to create an on-farm carbon-free energy source from crop residue.
Reducing loss + waste.
By 2030 we want to have waste management plans for every product our business consumes. From pens and paper in the office, to fertiliser and water in the paddock. Part of this goal is also understanding our crop losses and how we can reduce these by finding alternative markets and uses for what we produce. Although only a small step to date, we’ve commenced action on this goal by composting at our office, separating all soft plastics for recycling and utilising product stewardship schemes where possible. We’ve also partnered with local charitable organisation Grow Gather Give to divert “waste” crop to emergency food relief. We’ve donated more than 2000 kg of vegetables to date.
One million plants.
We’re acutely aware of the impact food production has on our native environment, biodiversity and ecosystems. By 2030 we want to have planted one million native plants as part of our revegetation and waterway protection efforts. In 2020 we have commenced a waterway protection and revegetation project at Penguin creek (Tasmania) with the support of Landcare Tasmania, and Tennet creek (Victoria) with the support of Bass Coast Landcare Network and Melbourne Water.
Healthy communities.
We know we can’t change the world on our own. Systemic change takes a village and our success relies on the success of the people who work, collaborate and partner with us. We’re striving to create a hive of innovation which promotes education, shared knowledge and skill. We want to be an employer of choice, promoting diversity, equality and raising the bar on ethical labour standards in Australian agriculture. We’re also looking to create genuine, meaningful connections with the rural communities that we are a part of and benefit from. Ultimately, by producing and consuming responsibly, we’re hoping to foster healthier communities and happier people.
