Our Sustainability Program
Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is a world-leading, award-winning ecologically sustainable tourism operator dedicated to protecting and enhancing Lady Elliot Island, the Great Barrier Reef and surrounding communities.
Our Vision: Is for Lady Elliot Island to remain a pristine coral cay within a green zone in the southern World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. We wish to provide a nature-based destination, giving an opportunity for visitors from all over the world to experience the natural beauty and fragile ecosystem of a coral cay and its inhabitants, including the birds and the marine creatures, which live on or visit the island and its surrounding reef.
Our Mission: Is to be custodians of this pristine environment. To enable it to exist and be preserved as nature intended, while giving visitors the opportunity to experience it in an economically and ecologically viable way, without interfering with or having any adverse impact upon the long-term sustainability of the island’s unique ecosystem.
Recognition
Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort has achieved Advanced Ecotourism Certification, Climate Action Leader Certification and Green Travel Leader status from Ecotourism Australia in recognition of our sustainability programs and low impact Resort operation. Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort also achieved GreenLeaders status with TripAdvisor in 2015.
Advanced Ecotourism
Australia’s leading and most innovative ecotourism products that operate with minimal impact on the environment and provide opportunities to learn about the environment with operators who are committed to achieving best practice, using resources wisely, contributing to conserving the environment and helping local communities.
Climate Action Leader
Businesses have incorporated strategic climate change responses across all relevant levels of business planning and operations. They are measuring and auditing their carbon footprint via a creditable system and have undertaken an advanced level of adaptation, emissions reduction and offsetting and are working towards becoming carbon neutral.
Green Travel Leader
Green Travel Leaders are tourism businesses that have held certification with Ecotourism Australia for 10 or more years.
Sustainability Actions
Our Challenge
Implementing sustainability initiatives on a remote, off-grid Island is an extreme challenge. There is no supplied electricity, no mains water or wastewater treatment operation and no weekly garbage truck! The Resort has to produce its own electricity, desalinate its own water, treat all water and sewage and remove ALL waste whilst adhering to our sustainability objectives of minimal impact on the planet.
Our Actions
It has been a thrilling journey since 2005 transforming the Resort and Island from a rundown, degraded landscape to a world leading eco-tourism business!
Our sustainability actions focus on reducing carbon emission, water use and the waste produced; protecting and improving the Island’s biodiversity in partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and private industry; and inspiring our guests and surrounding community to become ECO Warriors and join us in our mission to protect the Great Barrier Reef for future generations.
Our Staff
Our staff are very passionate and really care about the reef and the Island’s fragile eco-system. Join one of our guided Behind the Scenes Tours and you will immediately realise, through their knowledge and guidance, the interrelationships of nature and the need to respect and preserve.