Investor Information:
The $5 billion Future Drought Fund is an investment by the Australian Government to build drought resilience in Australia’s agriculture sector, landscapes and communities. Each year, $100 million is made available to help Australian farms and communities prepare for the impacts of drought.
Website: www.agriculture.gov.au/fdf
Kari Moffat
2025 Nuffield Scholar
Taking stock of Ag's sustainability commitments
As agricultural businesses come under mounting pressure to not only demonstrate food systems are sustainable, but drought resilient, Kari Moffat will investigate the influence sustainability commitments have on agricultural business decision making.
The Darwin-based sustainability manager said the pressure placed on businesses lacks consistency and could be complex, costly and lacking in scientific backing – bringing into question the drivers for change.
“Through my roles on the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework Steering Group and with AAM, I’ve seen first-hand the pressure stakeholders are placing on businesses to change and align with their sustainability targets,” Kari said.
“The drivers of these sustainability commitments seem to have moved away from triple bottom line accounting, towards pushing businesses to prioritise the ‘E’ in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
“There is an opportunity to explore the decision-making process businesses are taking when making sustainability commitments and setting targets, and how these decisions are impacting businesses long-term.
“Decision making processes around sustainability, when studied with an overlay of preparedness for drought, enable risks and opportunities to be identified.”
Kari said she has been exposed to sustainability governance through her role as AAM’s sustainability manager.
“I’m responsible for supporting the embedding of sustainability and continuous improvement strategies within the business, as well as stakeholder communication through annual reporting across a diverse portfolio of agriculture assets.”
Kari hopes to travel the European Union, as it is a “major influencer” of global ESG policy setting.
“I plan to explore markets such as Ireland, a global leader in sustainability measurement, as well as broader travel in the EU to understand the opportunities and risks of these government policy shifts have on producers and global food security.”
She will also focus on nations exporting agricultural products that experience the same pressures as Australia, including Canada, India and South America. This study will help her understand the impacts, solutions and opportunities for global alignment, particularly for emerging economies.
Ph: 0418 327 278