Sustainable tourism

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water
Ensuring a sustainable NSW through climate change and energy action, water management, environment and heritage conservation and protection. 

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.

Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia has developed a sustainability framework to provide clarity on their role in advancing sustainability across the visitor economy and to provide transparency in how sustainability is embedded across their activities.

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.

Business.gov.au Environmental Management Guide

Information on environmental management to reduce the amount of energy, water and waste your business uses to help save money and the environment.

Electric Vehicle Strategy

The NSW Government is continuing to invest $100 million to reduce emissions and make electric vehicles (EVs) even more accessible.

Net Zero & Climate Resilience

NSW is committed to achieving net zero emissions and building climate resilience. Find resources, strategies, and tools to help organisations reduce emissions, adapt to climate risks, and deliver sustainable outcomes for communities and the economy.

Bin Trim 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.

Business.gov.au Grants and Programs Finder

Find grants, funding and support programs from across government to help your business.

City of Sydney Grants and Sponsorships

A range of funding is available throughout the year or projects to reduce environmental damage.

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.

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.

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.

Visitor economy businesses may consider undertaking benchmarking programs or seeking formal recognition by obtaining sustainable or ecotourism accreditation or certification. These programs can be either designed specifically for the visitor economy, or available to businesses across a range of industries.

Benchmarking programs

ATIC Tourism Emissions Reduction Commitment

The Australian Tourism Industry Council's (ATIC) Tourism Emissions Reduction Commitment enables visitor economy businesses to assess their emissions and develop a tailored emissions reduction plan.

Ecotourism Australia Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard

The Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard is a pathway program for any visitor economy business at the beginning of their sustainability journey. Informed by Ecotourism Australia’s sustainable tourism framework and best practice guidance, businesses track their own operations against 50 criteria across the four pillars of sustainability.

Accreditation - Visitor economy

ATIC Sustainable Tourism Accreditation

The Australian Tourism Industry Council’s (ATIC) Sustainable Tourism Accreditation can assist small, medium and regional visitor economy businesses. Sustainable Tourism Accreditation incorporates sustainability across environmental, cultural, social and commercial business practices.

Certification - Visitor economy

EarthCheck
EarthCheck is a science-backed, people-focused certification process that helps visitor economy businesses showcase their sustainability commitment and enhance their visitor experiences, recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

Ecotourism Australia
Ecotourism Australia is a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA), a global association for sustainable tourism established in January 2025. Ecotourism Australia uses standards that are globally recognised as best practice. Ecotourism Australia’s certification programs assure visitors that certified products are backed by a strong, well-managed commitment to environmental, socio-economic and culturally sustainable practices.

Green Globe

Green Globe is a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA), a global association for sustainable tourism established in January 2025. The certification is a structured assessment of the sustainability performance of visitor economy businesses and their supply chain partners.

Green Key Global

Green Key Global is a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA), a global association for sustainable tourism established in January 2025. Their international eco-certification program recognises and promotes sustainable practices in the hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

Other certification

Australian Certified Organic

Australian Certified Organic (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.

B Corp

Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

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 in a publicly available report.

NABERS

NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) provides simple, reliable, and comparable sustainability measurement across building sectors like hotels, shopping centres, apartments, offices and data centres.

Sustainable Restaurant Association

The Food Made Good Standard is a rigorous sustainability assessment designed for food and beverage businesses worldwide.

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.

Australia Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)

The ACCC’s Making Environmental Claims: A Guide for Business. This straightforward and easy to understand guidance explains the obligations under the Australian Consumer Law which businesses must comply with when making environmental and sustainability claims.

Booking.com - Sustainability Courses

The Booking.com online courses developed in partnership with UN Tourism are a series of free courses designed to give accommodation providers guidance on key sustainability topics.

EarthCheck Carbon Calculators

EarthCheck provides three carbon calculators to measure the carbon footprint of vistor economy businesses and understand, manage, and reduce their emissions effectively . Learn how to track freight, food and laundry emissions with these tools.

EarthCheck x Typsy Micro-Credential Courses

These beginner-friendly programs are designed for all staff, and deliver practical, actionable knowledge to embed responsible business practices across your organisation, one confident step at a time.

Glossary of Sustainable Tourism Terms

Glossary clarifying the concepts illustrated in the GSTC Standards and terms related to certification of businesses and destinations, and recognition of standards.

Green Star Performance

Green Star Performance is a sustainability rating tool to assess the operational performance of existing buildings.

Green Vehicle Guide

The Green Vehicle Guide provides data and tools to help understand a vehicle's environmental impact.

How to make my small business more sustainable

Information on ways your business can reduce its' environmental impact.

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.

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.

Single-Use Plastic Ban - Guide for Business

The NSW Government has banned certain single-use plastics, including single-use plastics straws, stirrers and cutlery, single-use plastic bowls and plates, and expanded polystyrene food ware and cups.

Sustainability Storytelling for Destinations

Sustainability Storytelling for Tourism and Hospitality Operators

Learn how to effectively communicate your sustainability efforts to global audiences. 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.

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 Foundation NSW Sustainability Awards and National Sustainability Awards.

NSW Tourism Awards

The NSW Tourism Awards celebrate business excellence, acknowledge business innovation and reward exceptional customer service. The category ‘Ecotourism' recognises ecologically sustainable visitor economy businesses with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas.

Booking.com

Businesses that hold sustainable or eco certification can list on the Booking.com platform and be identified as a sustainable experience.

Green Getaways

Properties listed on Green Getaways Australia are taking steps towards making 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 experiences and destinations certified by Ecotourism Australia at global best practice sustainable and ecotourism standards.

Life Unhurried

The Slow Stays directory is a guide to the best slow and sustainable accommodation in Australia and New Zealand.

Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report 2026

Now in its 11th year, the Booking.com Travel & Sustainability Report tracks traveler attitudes and understanding of more sustainable travel. Based on a sample of 32,500 respondents across 35 markets, it is a global snapshot of the evolving ways travelers plan to travel more sustainably.

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

The GSTC manages the criteria and global standards for sustainable travel and tourism. The GSTC Standards form the foundation for international accreditation of certification bodies that certify accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place.

National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NAASA)

NASAA is an organic industry association that provides market and industry development, advocacy, education, policy and advice services including the NASAA Organic and Biodynamic Standard.

Saving our Species Program

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

Sustainable Destination Partnership

The Sustainable Destination Partnership is a collaboration of Sydney hotels, backpacker hostels, serviced apartments, cultural institutions, entertainment venues and industry leaders working together to make Sydney a sustainable destination.

Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA)

The TSCA is a collaboration of leading globally recognised certification bodies working together to ensure that global best practice standards are maintained under a shared international brand. The TSCA works collectively to meet the requirements of emerging consumer protection legislation, such as the EU Green Claims Directive and the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directives, and align on approaches to future legislation, reporting standards and other requirements related to sustainable tourism certification.

UN Tourism

The United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and the advancement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UN Tourism Global Roadmap for Reducing Food Waste in Tourism

A consistent framework for stakeholders to embrace the sustainable management of food so that it never becomes waste.