The Australian cotton industry has a 21 year history of independent environmental assessments, demonstrating its commitment to monitoring and improving the industry’s environmental performance. The initial assessment, conducted in 1991, saw the cotton industry become the first major agricultural industry undertake such a task, and in 2012, the Third Environment Assessment was conducted to continue documenting performance and practice change.

The Australian Cotton Industry: Third Environmental Assessment made six recommendations for the industry to improve its environmental performance. These recommendations, and the key findings from the Assessment, are outlined in the Assessment Report.