Aust Conserv

Australia's foremost directory of eco friendly accommodation, ECOHOTEL, is offering one of ten copies of Ken Eastwood's fabulous guide book "Australia's Best Eco-friendly Holidays" to visitors to their website. In addition, the site has a number of fabulous Hot Summer Deals in a number of great holiday eco destinations, including guided wild forest walks, free Melbourne CBD parking, complimentary dinners for two and even a platypus safari!

The ECOHOTEL directory encourages and promotes Australian environmentally sustainable accommodation. From stunning resorts under the ecotourism banner, to budget youth eco-hostels, to hip city hotels implementing the latest green technologies; ECOHOTEL now makes it possible to find genuine environmentally responsible Australian accommodation in just one place.

Alto Hotel on Bourke has achieved the prestigious Green Globe Certified Silver status under the Green Globe Earthcheck Certification programme managed by EC3 Global. The global programme recognises Alto Hotel on Bourke's commitment to operating at the world's highest environmental standard.

Prior to achieving Certification, Alto Hotel on Bourke successfully Benchmarked using the Earthcheck^TM tool, against key environmental indicators including energy and water consumption, total waste production and community commitment.

See more images of the hotel on our community photos page.

Cairns, Australia--Sustainable Travel International (STI) recently announced that it has established a branch in Australia in response to the growing global demand for "green" travel products and services. The primary focus of the new Australian branch, located in Cairns, will be to offer an improved service to companies and consumers in Australia. The branch's establishment marks STI's expansion into the Oceania market.

STI is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting responsible tourism, supporting sustainable development, and helping travelers and travel providers protect the environments and cultures they visit.

STI President Brian T. Mullis said, "We are very excited by the possibilities that a presence in the region will afford us. The new Cairns office enables us to better respond to the needs of our growing customer base."

Travelling less and travelling together helps to reduce carbon footprint. Here are a few ways that you can help reduce your carbon foot print when you're travelling around the world or just to and from work.

1. Sharing of car to work or carpooling.
2. Make sure your car is tuned and in tip top condition. An untuned car can be very inefficient.
3. Check your tyre pressure. A deflated tyre means more resistance on the tyre and more wear and tear, not to meantion the safety factors.
4. Public transport to be used rather than own car.
5. Work from home at least once a week. (If your boss lets you :) )
   
6. Drive a fuel efficient car, try a diesel powered engine or even a hybrid.
   
7. Ride a scooter or a motorbike.
8. While on a vacation, explore locally by hiring a bicycle rather than the car.
9. When staying in a hotel, turn off the lights and air-conditioning off before going out.
10. Buy carbon credits to offset your plane flights.

Taking little steps together can make a huge difference. Change the way you think and live and help save the planet.

The ecohotel web directory is officially launched today as Australia's first and foremost comprehensive directory of environmentally sustainable accommodation.

The ecohotel directory aims to promote and encourage accommodation operators who have put into place significant initiatives to run their business in a more environmentally sustainable manner. For the first time, it will be possible to find genuine environmentally responsible Australian accommodation in just one place, from resorts under the ecotourism banner to hip city hotels implementing the latest eco technologies to cut waste in energy, water and product use.