Sustainability
The Adelaide Central Market is committed to working with our community, now and in the future, to carefully manage our resources to foster a sustainable future for the environment in which we live. We are committed to collaborating with our customers and traders on the importance of waste minimisation, preservation of materials and resources and reducing our collective environmental footprint. We encourage a socially responsible, fair, safe and inclusive Market for our community.
The Adelaide Central Market has always had a unique connection to local food systems and the land. Our traders have long been working with our local growers, farmers and producers. We are accountable to our stakeholders and know our community are passionate about sustainability, waste minimisation and doing better.
“Our commitment to sustainability and reducing our environmental footprint is embedded in all that we do.” Adelaide Central Market Authority General Manager Fabienne Reilly said.
“Since 2019 we have been recycling our organic waste and in FY 2023/24, with the City of Adelaide, we purchased a bio-separator so we can have complete control of how our organic waste is recycled to produce compost for the farming industry, with a current diversion rate of 98.95%.”
“Between 2012 and 2023, our partnership with OzHarvest Adelaide has rescued approximately 132,260kg of good quality surplus food. This food has been distributed to people in need throughout Adelaide.”
“Our social responsibility also extends to the wellbeing of our community, so we strive for a positive, inclusive and fair workplace and an enriching destination for customers and the broader community.”
The Story So Far
Our journey to reducing our environmental impact and a more sustainable future Market is just that. A journey.
Our 2022-24 Sustainable Strategy guided us to implement new strategies, processes, infrastructure and to keeping sustainability at the core of all that we do.
Food Rescue
In 2023/24 financial year, OzHarvest rescued approximately 14,520kg of nourishing, fresh produce! That’s 29,040 meals for South Australians in need. Helping to feed those who need it most and stopping food going to waste.
Head to ozharvest.org to donate today to help keep OzHarvest’s wheels turning.
Landfill Diversion
Instead of landfill, we use various methods, including a bio-separator to recycle/reuse 98.95% of our waste.
This produces:
- Compost for the farming industry
- Processed engineered fuel products which provide a sustainable alternative to the use of fossil fuels
- Recycled cardboard products
- Recycled polystyrene products
Reducing single-use plastic
In 2023 we implemented a water bottle re-fill station, giving our community the opportunity to fill up their own water bottle with free filtered water, reducing the need to purchase bottled water. From March 2023 to September 2024, 13,713 single-use plastic bottles have been avoided by people using our re-fill station instead of buying bottled water.
Renewable Electricity
Through the City of Adelaide’s partnership with Flow Power we continue to meet our own electricity needs from a mix of wind and solar power. Find out more about City of Adelaide’s renewable electricity partnership here.
The Next 3 Years
To build on our progress, we embarked on an open and consultative process to agree on the next steps in our sustainability journey. This involved working with local sustainability consultants to take us through a journey that got us remembering all that we have already achieved, reminded us of what our goals were, and took us on a ‘blue sky’ journey of what is possible with the development of the new Market Square of which the Adelaide Central Market is an intrinsic part.
We started with a materiality assessment of the ESG issues, primarily focused on the Environmental and Social components that would be contained within the strategy. Upon their recommendation, we drew from best practice frameworks including GRESB and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Through this assessment, we identified material issues such as energy efficiency, waste minimisation, and social practices. This has helped us pinpoint areas for improvement and highlights strengths.
Stakeholder engagement during the process provides us with valuable feedback on materiality and priorities. By identifying issues to address, we can better manage the risks and ensure long-term financial resilience. Additionally, the global frameworks used enhance the transparency and consistency in disclosing information, aiding a greater understanding of our sustainability efforts.
When the long list of possibilities was prioritised, we engaged our traders as our business partners, and our Board before launching the strategy in Q1 2024/2025.
We are proud to share our 2024/2027 Sustainability Strategy, encompassing our key themes:
- Systems & Processes
- Energy & Resilience
- Food
- Positive workshop & wellbeing
- Waste
- Advocacy and Leadership
Read our 2024/27 Sustainability Strategy here.
What’s Next?
To help us understand our emissions and measure our progress we are gathering our gas and electricity consumption data to accurately develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory and baseline for the Adelaide Central Market Authority (ACMA). This data, will enable us to quantify the Scope 1 and 2 emissions associated with our operations in FY2023/24, in alignment with the GHG Protocol. By focusing on areas under our operational control, we aim to create a precise and actionable emissions inventory that will serve as the foundation for tracking and managing GHG emissions.
Going forward, we will investigate expanding the boundary to include Scope 3 emissions, which will encompass our trader emissions and other indirect sources. This comprehensive approach will provide a more comprehensive picture of our overall environmental impact.
Shopping Sustainably
Refill at House of Health
Bring your own container or bottle (or purchase one in store) and fill up from a range of bulk health foods and wellness products on tap.
Milk on Tap
BYO Containers
- Bring your own bags, produce bags, coffee cup, clean containers and shopping trolley (or buy a reusable bag from our Market Stall)
- Pick up a box from a Fruit & Veg trader
- Separate your rubbish into the recycling, organics or landfill bins provided
- Fill up your water bottle with free filtered water at our water station
Fair Seafood
Fair seafood is the first and only Australian seafood wholesaler and retailer to provide 100% fisher-to-consumer traceability on all products.
Customers can know where, when, how and by whom it was caught, and even more importantly, when and how it was processed.