Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has entered into a strategic partnership with Ruminati, an emissions ag tech platform, marking a significant step towards a more sustainable future for Australian agriculture.
The collaboration introduces Ruminati PRIME, featuring an emissions calculator and scenario planner, designed to help producers calculate baseline emissions and model farm activities for improved sustainability and profitability.
Starting in July, CBA will begin a staged program to offer Ruminati PRIME to its agribusiness customers on an opt-in basis. This decision follows a successful pilot involving livestock and mixed farming customers across Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, and Tasmania, where participants explored various abatement activities.
“Many of our customers tell us they want more information on baseline measurement and practices which can be adopted to build resilience, lift productivity, and enable them to demonstrate their sustainability credentials,” said Natasha Greenwood (pictured above left), CBA’s general manager of agribusiness.
The partnership aims to develop new products and services that support farmers in reducing carbon emissions and optimising opportunities.
Bobby Miller (pictured above right), Ruminati co-founder, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration.
“The results from our pilot with CommBank have really demonstrated the appetite producers have for tracking and managing emissions,” Miller said. “We’re proud to be working with CommBank on setting the gold standard for emissions tracking that supports and informs both producer and industry targets.”
Greenwood highlighted the potential for positive impacts, noting that strategies such as enhancing herd management, optimizing grazing and pasture management practices, increasing shelter belts, and reducing input usage are closely aligned with improving both the economic and environmental outcomes for Australian farmers.
Farmers David and Ruth Jones, who participated in the pilot, shared their positive experience.
“We have been sitting on the fence for a long time with regard to carbon and baselining, so we were glad when CBA approached us about trialling Ruminati as they literally did our shopping around for us,” they said.
“Access to Ruminati as a platform for a baseline and ‘getting our number’ was not nearly as daunting as we initially thought. Once we gathered figures relating to our total usage for the year, navigating the website and entering our data was a walk in the park.”
They described the process as straightforward and insightful, leading to significant changes in their farming practices.
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