EC3 Global wins WWF award
Saving the tourism industry millions of dollars in operational
costs each year and reducing the planet's energy, waste and water
consumption has earned environmental management consultants EC3
Global a prestigious World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Earth Hour
Award.
EC3 Global, an Australian owned, international environmental
management and advisory group, won the WWF Sustainable Small
Business award last week, for their work in encouraging the tourism
industry to take action to measure and reduce its environmental
footprint.
The award recognises the efforts of EC3 Global's EarthCheck
programme which adheres to the United Nation's Agenda 21 principals
for sustainable development.
This year Agenda 21 celebrates its 20th birthday.
Agenda 21 was established as a global call to action to protect and
safeguard our environment. EarthCheck is now used by tourism
operators in over 70 countries worldwide and has become the world's
leading scientific benchmarking and certification program dedicated
to meeting the sustainability principles laid down in Rio De
Janeiro.
EarthCheck's certification and benchmarking gives the travel and
tourism industry a science-based approach to increase efficiencies,
maximise guest experience and minimise their environmental
footprint.
EC3 Global CEO Stewart Moore said if the environmental footprint
made by the world tourism industry was compared to the footprint of
a country then tourism would be the fifth biggest polluter
worldwide.
"Tourism provides about 9 percent of the world's income and
employs more than 10 percent of the world's workforce. CO2
emissions generated directly from the tourism sector account for
approximately 5% of global carbon emissions which is greater than
the emissions generated by some countries," said Mr Moore.
"For the past 12 years, we have worked with both enterprises and
communities in Australia and across the world to help them to
address the twin challenges of climate change and reducing their
environmental footprint. We are amazed every day by the
innovative solutions our clients are achieving.
WWF CEO Dermot O'Gorman said the WWF Earth Awards recognise the
inspiring environmental contributions of Australians.
"When you consider the profound challenges the planet is facing,
it can occasionally seem overwhelming but here we have individuals
taking action every day of the year to ensure a better future for
our planet," said Mr O'Gorman.
