Brisbane, Australia. Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), a statutory body of the Queensland Government and the state’s lead marketing, tourism experience and destination development and major events agency, has achieved EarthCheck Gold Certification. Gold Certification with EarthCheck recognises five years of independent certification to the world’s leading scientific benchmarking and certification program for sustainable tourism.
TEQ’s Chief Executive Officer Leanne Coddington said the organisation had undertaken a long-term commitment to achieve the certification.
“Queensland is one of the world’s most naturally diverse and incredible places on Earth,” Ms Coddington said. “Sustainability is key to our tourism and event industry’s future, so taking those steps within our own organisation is important to us as leaders of the industry.
“This has been a long-term commitment and will continue into the future.
“Every business can take simple steps towards reducing their impact on the environment and we encourage tourism and events businesses to have a strong focus on sustainability.”
EarthCheck CEO and founder, Mr Stewart Moore, congratulated the TEQ team on their long-term sustainability commitment over the past 14 years.
“Achieving EarthCheck Gold Certification is not an easy task and it takes the commitment of the whole team to deliver improved operational results across the business. There are no shortcuts and there needs to be an ongoing commitment to both measurement and improved performance,” Mr Moore said.
“I would particularly like to congratulate the TEQ Green Team who have shown leadership and commitment throughout the program.”
EarthCheck Certified is a program filled with innovative tools and resources that inform, inspire, and enable organisations in the tourism industry to deliver more sustainable services and products while ensuring they continue to meet the demands of the new visitor economy. TEQ has persistently worked towards optimising its energy performance, improving water usage, integrating responsible waste management systems and reducing its carbon footprint with science-based targets.
Notable achievements at TEQ since 2008 included:
- Decreasing energy consumption by the equivalent of 45 households worth of energy
- Reducing water consumption equivalent to 200,000 cases of XXXX Gold
- Saving more than 1,000 wheelie bins worth of waste from going to landfill
- Reducing carbon footprint equivalent to taking 90 cars off the road.
Queensland’s ‘Travel for Good’ purpose-led brand positioning has been designed to deliver on consumer desires and aspirations. As the state’s lead marketing agency its vitally important that TEQ leads by example and fulfills the values promoted through the EarthCheck program.
