Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers (WesCEF) has won the inaugural 2023 Chemistry Australia ‘Net Zero Transition’ Award.

With a theme of “future industry,” the award recognised WesCEF for its work to introduce multiple initiatives to reduce emissions on its decarbonisation journey.

WesCEF’s General Manager – Climate Opportunities Mussaret Nagree said that the award was a testament to WesCEF’s Net Zero Roadmap and the organisation’s commitment to minimising carbon emissions.

“Despite operating in a variety of hard-to-abate sectors, the entire WesCEF business has been working over the last decade to minimise their carbon emissions and, more recently, work toward targets of 30 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050,” Ms. Nagree said.

“I’d particularly like to acknowledge the team who started this journey over a decade ago to deliver the abatement we’ve achieved so far and establish strong foundations for our Net Zero Roadmap.”

“Our chemicals, energy and fertiliser businesses, including CSBP, have been early adopters of a range of emissions reduction technology, such as nitrous oxide abatement catalysts, which were installed in our nitric acid plants in 2012, reducing nitrous oxide by 80 per cent.”

“From 2012 to the end of 2020, this technology delivered a reduction in cumulative CO₂ emissions of 5.5 million tonnes, or approximately 40 per cent of WesCEF’s total emissions.”

WesCEF has also implemented a range of other innovative strategies to reduce emissions.

“We capture waste energy produced by our plants, then use it to heat water and create steam to generate electricity. We also sell captured carbon dioxide to the food and beverage industry which is then used to carbonate beverages,” Ms. Nagree said.

WesCEF recognises that partnering with a diverse range of organisations is critical to achieving its net zero goals.

“We’ve partnered with a variety of organisations, including Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co., Ltd, APA Group and Jupiter Ionics,” Ms. Nagree said.

“These partnerships are integral to us achieving our 2050 target. For example, our partnership with Mitsui aims to explore the feasibility of building a low carbon ammonia production plant which will include Carbon Capture and Storage opportunities.”

WesCEF has now entered the second phase of its Net Zero Roadmap, which targets a further emissions reduction of 30 per cent by 2030.

“To achieve this, we will continue to invest in nitrous oxide abatement and renewable energy initiatives, but we will also investigate opportunities to add value and find new avenues for waste carbon that will allow for diversification of our revenue streams while reducing our carbon impact,” Ms Nagree said.

“Congratulations to the rest of the award’s finalists. As an industry, we have an opportunity to make a real impact on reducing our nation’s emissions and we seem to be headed in the right direction.”

Learn more about WesCEF’s decarbonisation journey on our website.

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Media contact: Peter Carr 0413 019 137, or via email at pcarr@wescef.com.au