Sustainable tourism

Government departments and agencies

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
The Department of Planning and Environment brings together specialists in urban and regional planning, natural resources, industry, environment, heritage, Aboriginal and social housing, and Crown lands and water. 

NSW Environment Protection Authority
Working with the community, industry, businesses and other government agencies to protect and enhance NSW’s environment. 

Sustainability Advantage
Sustainability Advantage works with medium and large organisations to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices and to nurture leaders committed to securing a sustainable NSW.

Business advice

Building Sustainability Index
The Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) ensures new and renovated homes are designed using specific water and energy targets. These principles can also be applied to other types of construction. 

Building Upgrade Finance
Environmental Upgrade Agreements provide owners or managers with access to loans to upgrade a commercial building to maximise the building’s energy efficiency. 

Electric Vehicle Strategy
The Electric Vehicle Strategy is supported by $490 million in funding to make NSW the easiest place to buy and use an EV in Australia.

Net Zero: a seismic investment opportunity
The ‘Race to Zero’ is on and there is no better time to capitalise on the opportunity to establish and grow your business in Sydney and NSW.

Single-Use Plastic Ban – Guide for Business
The NSW Government are banning certain single-use plastics from 1st November 2022, including single-use plastics straws, stirrers and cutlery, single-use plastic bowls and plates, and expanded polystyrene food ware and cups.

Grants and programs

Bin Trim Rebates Program
The Bin Trim Rebates Program provides small to medium sized businesses with free waste assessments and rebates to help cover the costs of installing small-scale, on-site recycling equipment. 

Coastal and Estuary Grants
The NSW Government’s Coastal and Estuary Grants Program provides technical and financial support to local government to help manage the coastal zone. 

Electric Vehicle Destination Charging Grants 
The NSW Climate and Energy Action investing $20 million to assist eligible regional NSW destinations by co-funding the purchase and installation of EV chargers. 

Green Building Grants | City of Sydney
Green building grants program supports owners’ corporations and building owners in the residential and accommodation sector to undertake environmental ratings, certifications, audits and assessments for existing buildings to be resource efficient and achieve net zero emissions by 2035. 

NSW Environmental Trust Environmental Grants
The NSW Environmental Trust provides funding to a range of community, government and industry stakeholders to deliver projects that conserve, protect and rehabilitate the NSW environment, or that promote environmental education and sustainability. 

Tools

Benchmarked carbon calculator
Measure your carbon footprint and understand how your business is performing against others.

How to make my small business more sustainable
A useful first step is an audit of the operations within your business, to see where you can reduce your environmental impact.

Glossary of Sustainable Tourism Terms
Glossary clarifying the concepts illustrated in the GSTC Criteria and terms related to certification of businesses and destinations,  accreditation of certification bodies, and recognition of standards.

Love Food Hate Waste
Your Business is Food Toolkit is a guide for businesses on how to save money on food wastage and donate surplus food.

Government Departments and Agencies

Department of Climate Change, Energy, The Environment and Water
Leading Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protecting the environment, heritage and water. 

Business Advice

Energy management for business
Free energy efficiency audits and advice for small businesses Australia wide including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. 

Business.gov.au Environmental Management Guide
Information on environmental management, how to make your business environmentally friendly and energy efficiency. 

Green Vehicle Guide
Provides information on environmental performance of new light vehicles sold in Australia. 

Tourism Australia
Driving awareness of, and capability for a sustainable industry is a defined strategic priority for Tourism Australia. 

Grants, Programs and Tools

Emissions Reduction Fund
Provides businesses with the opportunity to earn Australian carbon credit units for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent a business store or avoids emitting through adopting new practices and technologies. 

Federal Government Grants and Programs Finder
Find grants, funding and support programs from across government to help your business. 

Green Initiative Grants
The Australian government has introduced several measures to promote environmentally friendly initiatives. Assistance programs are available in the form of grants, incentives, awards and subsidies to individuals, groups, community networks and businesses.

Guides for Effective Sustainability Storytelling
Learn how to effectively communicate your sustainability efforts to global audiences with our guides for tourism and hospitality operators, and destinations. The guides, which are aimed at those who already have sustainability policies, commitments, or action plans in place, have been developed by EarthCheck in partnership with Tourism Australia. Learn more on sustainability storytelling for destinations or tourism and hospitality operators.

National Sustainability Framework and Sustainable Tourism Toolkit

Find out more about the National Sustainability Framework for the Visitor Economy and Sustainable Tourism Toolkit, which have been jointly developed by the Australian Government, and State and Territory governments.

• National Sustainability Framework: The Framework, the first of its kind for Australian tourism, provides a nationally agreed understanding of sustainable tourism and a vision for Australia to be a world leader in sustainable tourism.
• Sustainable Tourism Toolkit: The Sustainable Tourism Toolkit provides practical guidance to help tourism businesses implement sustainable practices across the four pillars of sustainability outlined in the Framework.

EarthCheck
Aligned to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) Sustainability Criteria, EarthCheck offers certification and programs for visitor economy businesses, destinations, governments, developers and building designers, terrestrial and marine parks, and events, through two levels of certification; EarthCheck Eco and EarthCheck ECO – Certified.

Ecotourism Australia
Ecotourism Australia's certification programs assure travellers that certified products are backed by a strong, well-managed commitment to sustainable practices, certified using international best practice standards and recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Ecotourism Australia has two overarching business certification programs both based on international best practice and recognised by the GSTC: Eco Certification and Sustainable Tourism Certification. 

Green Globe

The Green Globe International Standard for Sustainable Tourism has been developed over three decades in collaboration with the travel and tourism industry, communities in tourism destinations and other stakeholders. The standard is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

B Corp
The global B Corp community mobilises a collective action to address society’s most critical challenges, and collaborates with governments, academia, coalitions, and other institutions to drive economic systems change.

Climate Active
Certifies businesses and organisations that have proven that they are measuring, reducing, and offsetting their emissions, with a net result of zero emissions.

Ecotourism Australia Strive 4 Sustainability scorecard
A pathway program for any tourism business to start their sustainability journey.

Quality Tourism Australia; Sustainable Tourism Accreditation
Visitor economy businesses utilise the learning tools and resources to develop best business practices that create experiences that not just meet but exceed customer expectations and demonstrate sound sustainability practices.

Sustainable Wine Growing Australia
Australia’s national program for grape growers and winemakers to demonstrate and continuously improve their sustainability in the vineyard and winery through the environmental, social and economic aspects of their businesses.

Take 3 for the Sea | Ground Swell Program, Plastic Pollution Education
Take 3 for the Sea project created to empower visitor economy businesses of all types to reduce and reverse the litter impact visitors knowingly or unknowingly leave behind in coastal, country, urban and remote or outback locations.

Banksia Foundation

The Banksia Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that believes in the power of social and environmental impact through community engagement and sustainable business practices. Showcase your sustainability leadership and make a positive impact on Australia's future by entering the Banksia's Awards; The NSW Sustainability Awards and National Banksia Sustainability Awards.

Tourism NSW Awards
The NSW Tourism Awards celebrate business excellence, acknowledge business innovation and reward exceptional customer service. The category ‘Ecotourism' recognises ecologically sustainable tourism businesses with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas *Please note that NSW accepts the Eco Tourism Australia Certification. The category ‘Take 3 for the Sea Litter Prevention’ recognises businesses who go over and above their day-to-day commercial focus, to prevent visitor litter reaching or remaining in the natural environment.

Australian Certified Organic (ACO)
ACO provides certification services to operators from all sectors of the organic industry. Certification ensures compliance with national and international production standards and allows trace back of all products to their origin. 

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)
The GSTC manages the criteria and global standards for sustainable travel and tourism; as well as providing international accreditation for sustainable tourism certification bodies.

Grants & Sponsorships | City of Sydney
The City of Sydney’s grants and sponsorship program supports initiatives and projects that strengthen the social, cultural, economic and environmental life of the city. Through this program, the City of Sydney partners with the community and business to further the strategic directions of Sustainable Sydney 2030-2050 Continuing the Vision. These programs provide financial and in-kind support for a diverse range of activities.

Green Getaways
Properties listed on Green Getaways Australia are taking steps towards making tourism accommodation more sustainable, whether water or energy conservation, recycling, or reducing the consumption of natural resources through bulk amenities and eco-friendly cleaning. 

Green Travel Guide
The Green Travel Guide features tourism operators and destinations certified by Ecotourism Australia. Our certifications assure travellers that they book high quality eco and sustainable tourism experiences.

Green Star Performance
Green Star Performance is Australia's leading sustainability rating tool to assess the operational performance of existing buildings. 

National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NAASA) Certified Organic
NAASA plays a critically important role in supporting and promoting the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices that lead to safer and more sustainable food production systems. 

National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS)
NABERS (which stands for the National Australian Built Environment Rating System) provides simple, reliable, and comparable sustainability measurement you can trust across building sectors like hotels, shopping centres, apartments, offices, data centres, and more.

Saving our Species Program

With the state at risk of losing over 1,000 of our precious native animals, plants and ecological communities, the NSW Government established Saving our Species, NSW's flagship threatened species conservation program.

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)
The United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

UNWTO Global Roadmap for Reducing Food Waste in Tourism
A consistent framework for tourism stakeholders to embrace the sustainable management of food so that it never becomes waste.