Ecovantage Primed to Drive Decarbonisation for Australia’s Tourism Industry.

Media Release: 04 May, 2022

TOURISM and hospitality professional Greg Magi has partnered with one of Australia’s leading renewable energy and carbon management companies, Ecovantage to drive the decarbonisation transformation in the Australian tourism and hospitality industry.

Over the past 15 years, Ecovantage has successfully reduced carbon emissions by more than 5.4 million tonnes for its Australian clients via implemented renewable energy projects and introduced efficient technologies. According to the Science Based Target initiative, in 2019, net zero by 2050 pledges covered a mere 16% of the global economy and by 2021 this grew to 70%. The take-up of sustainable commitments by global companies seeking to transform to a cleaner and more responsible way of doing business is now becoming mainstream.

The Australian tourism industry is a key growth area as operator’s desire to improve their sustainable position protecting their most valuable assets, both natural and social, is now more than an ambition.

Ecovantage CEO Bruce Easton said “the partnership with Greg and his tourism industry expertise was invaluable given his more than 30 years’ experience and understanding of the industry’s challenges now and into the future.

“At Ecovantage, we want to extend our expertise to this important sector to benefit the environment whilst delivering positive long term reputational, compliance and commercial outcomes for our clients,” he said.

“The Australian tourism industry collectively generates around $132 billion to the economy each year, employs 800,000+ staff and as many operations are located in ecologically sensitive locations, meaningful, cost-effective ways for tourism businesses to operate in a more environmentally and sustainable way is big business,” he said.

Greg Magi notes that post the pandemic, guests are increasingly eco-discerning when it comes to choosing a holiday, business event venue or destination.

“Guests’ choice is at a tipping point and is being swayed more by a property’s real environmental practices rather than just convenience, price and or positive online reviews,” Mr Magi said. “Guests now want their carbon ‘travel’ footprint to be as minimal as possible, so operators need to deliver on this as much as delivering exceptional guest experiences,” Mr Magi said.

“Online ratings such as Google’s ‘Eco Certified’ for accommodation and several global green certification platforms go beyond just guest reviews and are influencing consumer’s choice. The requirement for business must be more than a pledge and the time to transform is now. Industry wide, transparency and commitment is required and Australian operators are in a prime position to become a world leader in sustainable tourism,” he said.

“Ecovantage’s objective is simple, to make it easier for tourism operators to navigate their renewable energy and sustainability transformation and options by delivering positive end-to-end solutions. “Every tourism business has its own set of unique challenges, and each property’s sustainability needs to be individually tailored accordingly.”

“There is no doubt that the industry’s positive actions will deliver improved commercial outcomes, higher guest satisfaction and environmental benefit, but it is also an important aspect in attracting and retaining staff and who in turn, will be a business’s best green ambassadors going forward”.