RACV Resorts achieve Australian-first Advanced Sustainable Tourism rating
Ecotourism Australia proudly recognises RACV’s portfolio of Club and Resorts for achieving Sustainable Tourism Certification across all ten properties, with two hotels becoming the first in Australia to attain Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification.
This achievement reflects a consistent, enterprise-wide commitment to sustainable tourism and is particularly significant for RACV Noosa Resort on the Sunshine Coast and RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast, which have achieved the highest tier of Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification.
Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Officer, Elissa Keenan, praised RACV for its proactive and strategic approach.
“RACV’s accomplishment sends a powerful message to the broader tourism industry that sustainability at scale is achievable and delivers real value for people, place, planet and purpose.
“By attaining Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification across two flagship resorts and certifying their entire portfolio, RACV is demonstrating that large operators can be trailblazers, not just in adopting innovative practices, but in embedding them in a way that inspires others to follow,” Ms Keenan said.
Craig Peachey, Executive General Manager, Leisure at RACV, said the milestone is a testament to the dedication of teams across the organisation.
“Achieving Sustainable Tourism Certification across our entire leisure portfolio is a proud moment, but more than anything it’s a reflection of the people behind it, our resort teams who show up every day with a genuine commitment to doing things better. Our goal has always been to make sustainability a real and meaningful part of how we operate.
This certification is an independent check that what we’re doing stands up to scrutiny and recognises the choices that add up to real change – running on renewable electricity where possible, harvesting rainwater for irrigation and a multi-year de-gasification program. To see that effort acknowledged across our entire portfolio is incredibly rewarding, and to have RACV Noosa Resort and RACV Royal Pines Resort become the first properties in Australia to achieve Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification is something the whole team should be enormously proud of.”
By achieving global best practice Sustainable Tourism Certification at all ten of their Club and Resorts, RACV reinforces that sustainability is not an isolated initiative but a core pillar of its business strategy. Every RACV property across Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland now meets Ecotourism Australia’s rigorous Sustainable Tourism Certification standards, ensuring consistency in environmental management, community engagement and responsible operations across the portfolio.
The newly certified properties are:
- RACV Noosa Resort (Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification) (QLD)
- RACV Royal Pines Resort (Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification) (QLD)
- RACV Cape Schanck Resort (VIC)
- RACV City Club (VIC)
- RACV Cobram Resort (VIC)
- RACV Goldfields Resort (VIC)
- RACV Healesville Country Club & Resort (VIC)
- RACV Inverloch Resort (VIC)
- RACV Torquay Resort (VIC)
- RACV Hobart Hotel (TAS)
RACV Noosa Resort and RACV Royal Pines Resort have implemented a particularly comprehensive suite of sustainability initiatives, resulting in both resorts being awarded Advanced Sustainable Tourism Certification.
RACV Noosa Resort purchases a Climate Active-certified carbon-neutral ‘Green LPG’ product through a third party energy supplier. This product offsets the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the supply and consumption of LPG. Staff also contribute to local reforestation through Tourism Noosa’s Tread Lightly program.
RACV Royal Pines Resort engages in environmental stewardship via Clean Up Australia Day and supports local conservation initiatives including the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and the Containers for Change scheme.
All RACV properties offer guests the option to opt out of their daily housekeeping service and instead support local community partners through their Go Green and Give program.
Collectively, these efforts demonstrate leadership in sustainable management, social responsibility, cultural engagement and environmental stewardship.
Achieving global best-practice Sustainable Tourism Certification is a meticulous process, involving more than 200 key criteria across four pillars of sustainability. Ecotourism Australia’s certification programs involve an initial third-party audit to award certification followed by periodic independent audits to maintain certification and demonstrate ongoing commitment to responsible practices.
Accommodation providers who have obtained Sustainable Tourism Certification from Ecotourism Australia benefit from formal global recognition across leading international booking channels, ensuring their independently verified sustainability performance is acknowledged and trusted by global distribution partners and travellers worldwide.
END
Media contacts:
Ecotourism Australia – Myv Costelloe, Stakeholder Engagement Manager
e: myv@ecotourism.org.au
ph: (07) 3256 6777
RACV – Media Team
e: media@racv.com.au
ph: 0417 041 398
About Ecotourism Australia
Ecotourism Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, established in 1991, that promotes and supports Australia’s visitor economy through building capacity and actively promoting sustainable tourism operations and systems. Our legacy program – ECO Certification – was the world’s first national ecotourism certification program and the Sustainable Tourism Certification, launched in 2022 supports non-nature based businesses achieve global best-practice. Today there are some 2500 accommodation, tours and attractions certified by Ecotourism Australia. Ecotourism Australia is also a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA), a global association for sustainable tourism established in January 2025. TSCA members are responsible for certifying more than 19,000 travel and tourism enterprises, organisations, and destinations across the globe – representing the largest cohort of certified operators worldwide.
–
About RACV
RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) is one of Australia’s most trusted member organisations, serving members and customers across motoring and mobility, home, energy and leisure since 1903. RACV is Victoria’s largest member organisation and operates with a core purpose of improving lives. RACV’s leisure portfolio includes resorts located at Cape Schanck, Cobram, Creswick, Healesville, Inverloch, Torquay, Noosa, the Gold Coast and Hobart, as well as RACV Club in Melbourne’s CBD. Committed to responsible business practices, RACV is dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences for its members while contributing positively to the communities and environments in which it operates.