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Regional Sustainability
Regional Sustainability
Located on the Southern Great Barrier Reef, home to some of the most pristine reef system along the East Coast of Australia, with the largest loggerhead turtle rookery in the south pacific, Australia’s largest food bowl, producing 25% of Australia’s fresh grown produce on land of our traditional owners the Taribelang Bunda, Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, Bailai, Wakka Wakka, Wulli Wulli, Djaku-nde, Jangerie Jangerie, and Kabbi Kabbi Peoples, the Bundaberg Region is committed to working at protecting this natural environment for future generations.
ECO DESTINATION CERTIFICATION
Bundaberg ECO Destination Certification Journey
Queensland’s Bundaberg Region, the southern-most destination on the Great Barrier Reef and the home of the nation’s most significant endangered loggerhead turtle rookery, has been awarded ECO Destination Certification from Ecotourism Australia.
The globally recognised ECO Destination Certification process through Ecotourism Australia is complex and recognises the efforts of the tourism industry, local government and the entire community towards all aspects of regional sustainability, and the Bundaberg Region is the second destination in Queensland and fifth in Australia to announce the prestigious credential.
The program was developed to identify and support genuine ecotourism and nature tourism experiences in Australia. The ECO Destination Certification program assures travellers that certified destinations are backed by a strong, well-managed commitment to sustainable practices and provide high-quality nature-based tourism experiences within the region.
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Visit the BRC’s Eco Destination Website
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Getting Your Business ECO Certified
Whether your business is an accommodation provider, a restaurant, a tour operator or an attractions there is a ECO Tourism Australia certification program for your business. Bundaberg Regional Council is offering a subsidy to offset your first annual certification fee.
Advantages of being ECO Certified
- Global quality assurance
- Operator credibility and recognition
- Demonstrate commitment to continuous improvement
- Free Listing on Eco Tourism Australia Green Travel Guide
- Free Product Listing on Our Planet Travel
- Meeting consumer expectations
WHICH CERTIFICATION IS RIGHT FOR MY BUSINESS?
STRIVE 4 SUSTAINABILITY SCORECARE
If you run a tourism business and are interested in starting your sustainability certification journey, but don't know where to start, the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard is a great place to begin. Tourism Australia is the founding partner of the pathway program, which measures where a business or tourism operator is at on their sustainability journey at a point in time and assesses the following four pillars of sustainability:
- Environmental impacts
- Socio-economic impacts
- Cultural impacts
- Sustainable management
ECO CERTIFICATION
If you are a tour, accommodation or attraction operator with nature as your primary focus in your visitor experience, the ECO Certification program is for you. It assures travellers that certified products are backed by a strong, well managed commitment to sustainable practices and provides high-quality nature-based tourism experiences. ECO Certification is product-specific, you will need to answer the criteria as it applies specifically to each of your products and it also means that you are able to apply for ECO Certification even if not all of your products are nature-based.
There are three levels of ECO Certification: Nature Tourism, Ecotourism and Advanced Ecotourism.
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM CERTIFICATION
If you are a tourism businesses, such as a hotel, restaurant, distillery or brewery, attraction, tour, transport, but nature is not your primary focus, a Sustainable Tourism Certification may be right for you. You must be passionate about minimising negative impacts on the environment and maximising positive impacts for community, culture and local economy.
There are two levels of ECO Certification: Sustainable Tourism and Advanced Sustainable Tourism.
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The Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard is a pathway program for any tourism business to start their sustainability journey
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ECO Certification is for operators who have a primary focus on nature-based experiences
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Sustainable Tourism Certification is for operators who don't have a primary focus on nature-based experiences
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The Bundaberg Regional Council is offering 50% off the annual Eco Tourism certification fee. Fill in the EOI here
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Turtle-Safe Operations
The Cut the Glow Initiative
With turtles nesting on our beaches, Queensland Parks and Wildlife lead an initiative to increase awareness of the impacts of light pollution on sea turtles.
Our turtles need dark beaches and you can make a difference. During the breeding season (15 October to 30 April) whether you are a resident, visitor or business, you can help cut the glow of lights affecting beaches in your local area
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Read more on the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services Cut the Glow initiative
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Cut the clow collateral to use in your business
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BRC’s Turtle Awareness Campaign
Bundaberg Regional Council encourages everyone, including our visitors, to understand the significance of the Bundaberg Region’s shoreline as a nesting location for threatened turtle species.
Council has developed a variety of turtle awareness materials that local businesses, tour operators and venues are encouraged to display in their businesses to urge residents and visitors to implement the small changes that can have a real impact on turtle hatchling survival rates.
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Register below
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Sustainability Stories
Regional Case Studies
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Sustainability has always been part of Bundaberg Rum’s story. See how they make their award-winning rum on the recently voted world’s best distillery tour.
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Bundaberg grows over 70% of Australia’s sweet potatoes. Now with the help of your takeaway coffee cup farms are more sustainable than ever before.
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Joey Caruana’s heart-felt passion for Bundaberg flavours drives the delicious menu at The Windmill Cafe Bargara and keeps the whole business thinking local.
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Macadamias Australia embed sustainability into every aspect of business. They’ve even used nuts as a renewable energy source!
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Kellys Beach Resort offers great value to sustainability-minded families looking to reconnect and recharge near one of Bundaberg’s best beaches!
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Located 80 kilometres Northeast of Bundaberg, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is on the Southernmost Island of the Great Barrier Reef, and a sustainability success story.
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At the end of a day trip with Lady Musgrave Experience most people don’t want to leave. Now they can stay overnight in reef-friendly glamping beds!
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Tourism Australia's Sustainability Storytellers
As travellers across the globe look forward to travel, and ‘travel better’ is a phrase resounding across our industry, Tourism Australia’s focus on sustainability is aimed at making it easier for anyone planning, promoting or selling travel to learn about and include sustainable Australian travel products and experiences in itineraries. What better place to start to demonstrate the depth and diversity of Australia’s sustainable travel offering than with stories direct from some our great storytellers and tourism legacy-makers.
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Learn about Amy Gash from Lady Elliot Island (page 5)
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Learn about Cathy Gatley from Mon Repos Turtle Encounter (page 7)
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Green Destinations Top 100 Stories Competition
The Bundaberg Region has been listed among the top 100 sustainable destinations in the world for 2021 in recognition of work carried out to reduce urban glow.
It means the Bundaberg Region will now be featured by Green Destinations in its 2021 Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories alongside other leading cities and regions throughout the globe. The stories are an annual selection of destinations demonstrating innovative and effective good practice to be shared as inspirational examples to other destinations, tour operators and international visitors.
Other Sustainable Business Resources
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Develop an action plan to help your businesses save money and increase efficiencies..
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Two-part sustainability training program is available on-demand through the ATEC Academy online learning platform
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As part of the #LessIsMore BRC & the Burnett LMAC will pick up your plastic straws & replace them with an equal number of Biopak Art Straws free.
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Why integrate sustainable waste & recycling practices in your business?
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