The Trade Council of Denmark has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Food & Fibre Gippsland after identifying Gippsland as a key region for the growth of the food and fibre sector.
The agreement was signed during a dairy circular economy workshop by the Trade Council of Denmark on Tuesday, October 24, formalising a collaboration with the circular economy plan.
Representatives from the Latrobe Valley Authority, Sustainability Victoria, and Gippsland Climate Change Network attended the signing.
Food & Fibre Gippsland acting chief executive Ben Gebert met with representatives of The Trade Council of Denmark in Australia at a dairy industry event in Melbourne last year.
The Trade Council of Denmark has made multiple visits to Gippsland with specialists to consider what opportunities existed regarding partnership and collaboration within the food and fibre sector.
The areas of sustainability, whey capture and biogas were considered, along with opportunities to use established Danish technologies that improve efficiencies in factory settings through automation and data capture.
Following these visits, the relationship has now been formalised as Food & Fibre Gippsland continues to work towards its sustainable development goals and support dairy farmers and processors in addition to other industries, such as meat and food processing, all of which could potentially benefit from this partnership.
The strategic partnership agreement will lead to the exploration of value-adding possibilities for turning whey waste into a revenue stream.
Inspired by a common interest between parties, the agreement recognises the need to adopt sustainable agriculture and manufacturing practices, using less energy and water in food processing and with less production waste.
The strategic partnership aspires to make sure the circular economy is part of everyday life in Gippsland, make collaborations and partnerships to drive action, make sure end-use markets are aligned with resource recovery processing and supply, develop an established and maturing circular economy, and make sure the organics processing capacity and capability is strengthened, all by 2030.
Additionally, the agreement will explore opportunities for cooperation and supporting the government’s circular economy and waste-to-energy initiatives by introducing best-practice environment protection, creating ways to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, identifying solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sharing knowledge and case studies on energy and water efficiency, and assisting economic development through circular economy principles.
Mr Gebert said the partnership would benefit Gippsland in multiple ways.
“This agreement will pave the way for Danish innovation to be used in minimising and repurposing waste streams from dairy industries while supporting circular economy principles,” Mr Gebert said.
“In a region renowned for its high-quality dairy products, it makes economic and environmental sense to be using whey byproducts for new and emerging opportunities, essentially value-adding and reducing waste in the process.”
The Trade Council of Denmark, Consul General and Trade Commissioner Ulrik Dahl welcomed the strategic partnership agreement.
“We look forward to the mutual benefit of this collaboration with Food & Fibre Gippsland as we continue to actively support Australia’s green transition and contribute to the global reduction of CO2 emission,” Mr Dahl said.
