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Environmental Management Systems - National Pilot Program
In April 2003 the Australian Government launched an $8.5 million EMS National Pilot Program involving 15 pilot projects across Australia. The pilots represent a diverse range of industries, regions, partnerships and natural resource management issues.
Aims of the pilots
The objective of the EMS National Pilot Program was to:
- develop and assess the value of EMS as a management tool to improve natural resource management, from the enterprise level up to the catchment scale
- assist industry competitiveness and production efficiency, and
- help primary producers meet emerging market demands for quality and environment assurance.
The pilots answered questions about the practical and effective adoption of EMS on the ground, including EMS as an integrated management tool, effective tools for use within an EMS, EMS and the potential of markets to value the natural resource base that sustains agriculture, EMS in a regional context, and improving resilience through EMS implementation.
The pilot projects built on current government, industry and landholder interest in a systems approach to environmental management and will build the capacity of our industries to establish and maintain sustainable production systems. EMS will also help prepare producers to meet growing consumer demand for agricultural products to be produced in a sustainable way.
The EMS pilot program is a national program funded through the Natural Heritage Trust. Its aim is to test and enhance the potential of EMS as a business management tool for primary production, and to understand and address any limitations. The lessons learned from pilots undertaken within the program need to be transferable to a range of situations.
EMS National Pilot Program - Final Report 
Word [1mb]
EMS National Pilot Program - Mid-Term Report Word [1mb] which was completed at the end of 2004.
A brief description and contact details of each of the pilots is provided in the National EMS Pilot Program Projects document.
The following are final reports prepared by each of the EMS Pilots. The reports have been prepared with the assistance of Natural Heritage Trust funding provided by the Australian Government. We would like to acknowledge the efforts and commitment of all pilot participants throughout the life of the National EMS Pilot Program (April 2003 to June 2006).
AVC Tools Collaboration
Sub Projects 1, 2 and 3 Final Report Word [351kb]
Sub Project 4 Final Report Word [433kb]
Bega Cheese dairy famers' EMS pilot program
Bega Cheese Cooperative Final Word [1.5mb]
Gippsland Beef and Lamb EMS pilot project
Gippsland Final Report Word [1.9mb]
Innovation and Integration: EMS in the central Australian pastoral industry
Centralian Land Management Association Final Report 
PDF [237kb]
Developing dairy farmers and processor partnerships for EMS implementation
NSW DPI Final Report PDF [2.4mb]
Victorian CMAs (VCMA) EMS Pilot Project
VCMA Final Report Word [7.5kb]
King Island EMS Pilot Project
King Island Final Report Word [455kb]
On-farm EMS and enviromental labelling in the pastoral industries
QDPI Final Report PDF [845kb]
Mount Lofty Ranges Watershed EMS Project
Mount Lofty Final Report Word [310kb]
Rice Environmental Champions Program
Ricegrowers' Association of Australia Final Report PDF [1.8mb]
Seafood Services Australian EMS Project
SSA Final Report PDF [4.9kb]
Widespread adoption, ensuring practical application and testing benefits of EMS in broad-acre farming
Mingenew-Irwin Group Final Report Word [262kb]
BestFarms EMS
Blackwood Basin Group Final Report Word [1.4mb]
Murray EMS Pilot Project
Murray Final Report Word [301kb]
EMS+ in Rural Australia: practice and policy lessons from implementing the Australian Landcare Management System
ALMS Final Report Word [333kb]
The development and assessment of the Cotton BMP Program into a comprehensive EMS through the development of a land and water module
Cotton Final Report Word [627kb]
