Gas has long been the manufacturing workhorse of Australia’s food sector, producing the heat for processes including cooking, steaming, drying and sterilisation, but what was once a dependable energy source is becoming the industry’s greatest strategic risk. Gas supplies around 40% of the energy used by Australia’s food and beverage manufacturers. The industry needs to begin treating gas dependence as a business risk to be progressively reduced. Many food manufacturers operate on tight margins and cannot easily justify replacing functional equipment. For Australia’s food and beverage industry, getting off gas is not only a decarbonisation challenge.