Skyrail Rainforest Cableway has been awarded with EarthCheck Certified’s highest accolade - “Master Certified” - for demonstrating more than 15 years of commitment to the highest standards of environmental care and making social contributions that benefit their customers, staff and the local community.
After becoming the first tourism operator in the world to achieve EarthCheck Certification, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway – a 7.5km aerial cableway which enables guests to experience Australia’s World Heritage Listed rainforest from both above and below the canopy – is now considered a leader in the field of sustainability reporting and understands the long-term benefits of integrating environmental practices into every facet of the business – some of which includeenhanced brand value, operational savings, risk reduction and employee satisfaction.
Skyrail Managing Director, Craig Pocock, said the sustainable tourism journey that began with EarthCheck Certified 15 years ago emphasised Skyrail’s ongoing commitment to sustainable operations.
“Skyrail was the first tourism operator in the world to achieve EarthCheck Certification. We chose to partner with EarthCheck due to their very high standards of operation that we saw as being complementary to ours.
“Our relationship with EarthCheck and their team has enabled us to strive for year on year improvement in environmental, social and financial performance and the level of detailed analysis they have helped us achieve across every facet of our operations and performance is quite amazing.
“We can now call on more than 15 years of independently audited and benchmarked EarthCheck data to show our commitment to sustainable tourism practices, and we have truly seen the value of our investment returned to us many times over,” he said.
Since 2002, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway has saved:
- 2,186,655 MJ energy, enough to support 92 households.
- 892,416 kg CO2-e GHG emissions, equivalent to taking 299 cars off the road.
- 15,717,608 L of Potable Water, enough to fill up to 6 Olympic sized swimming pools.
- 236,984 L landfilled waste, which would have filled up to 7, 20-foot shipping containers.
Unique initiatives implemented as a result of EarthCheck Certification have included:
- A solar powered communications system between gondolas.
- Protection of the natural and cultural heritage values of the area: The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway has a well-developed program of engagement with local indigenous businesses. Indigenous staff are employed as rangers at Skyrail and visitors get the benefit of their knowledge through the tours they conduct.
- Recycling of all oil, fuels and solvents.
- Purchasing and sale of sustainable and locally produced products.
- Recycling bins at guest terminals and on boardwalks.
- Collection of rainwater runoff from the terminal buildings and storage in tanks.
- Training and education of staff and guests to encourage respect for the environmental and cultural heritage of the area.
Stewart Moore, CEO and founder of EarthCheck, congratulated the Skyrail team for their long-term commitment to sustainability.
“Becoming an EarthCheck Master Certified is the program’s highest order of achievement. There are less than ten EarthCheck Masters in the world, so Skyrail now sets the global standard for best practice in sustainability in the travel and tourism industry,” Mr Moore said.
“With this year being the UN Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, I am looking forward to witnessing how Skyrail will leverage their existing sustainability programs and successes in the future to generate further business value, improve business performance and foster innovation.”
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