Environmental & Social Sustainability Policy June 2010 (58 kb)

Environmental & Social Sustainability Policy Sept 2009

Lane Cove River Tourist Park is a unique business unit within the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (National Parks and Wildlife Division).  The park is a large recreational tourist park located only 10km from the Sydney CBD.  The park contains almost 300 caravan, campervan and tent sites as well as 28 self contained guest cabins.

The park operates under the Department of Environment and Conservation Corporate Plan 2006-2010 as well as public sector guidelines and legislation.

The Tourist Park is committed to designing and implementing an Environmental plan to cover every aspect of the operation of the business and containing the following eight (8) key components:

-          Community and business education- to promote environmental awareness for children and encourage active participation in environmental protection and awareness by families and local communities. Provide provision of individual/industry specific green marketing models and action plans for business and to promote and assist ongoing community/business reduction in greenhouse emissions, water savings, and promotion of flora and fauna.

-          Carbon reduction and eradication of carbon footprint- to achieve carbon neutrality and to support, use and promote alternate energy supplies.

-          Water management- to reduce on park water usage from mains, implement rainwater harvesting projects and educate the general public on water saving techniques.

-          Habitat creation and biodiversity- the Park will adopt management plans for specific wildlife projects, regenerate threatened flora species within the park, reduce the impact on park through development, conservation tourism initiatives and public education programs.

-          Recycle, reuse and waste minimise- we will aim to recycle all park paper waste, green waste, plastic and metal. We will reduce reliance on paper, use recycled inputs where possible and educate public and guests on recycling.

-          Pest and weed abatement and management- eliminate introduced weed species and non-native pests from the Park and provide public education.

-          Investment in our people- the Tourist Park will ensure staff understand our environmental plan and implement our plan in accordance with our overall vision and mission. Assist in developing staff to have the best skills set of industry, business and environment and to provide opportunities for staff through relevant programs of instruction.

-          Sustainable Eco Tourism- the Tourist Park aims to be models, partners and recognised in environmentally sustainable and socially responsible tourism.

Each of these components will be carefully managed and delivered under a plan of management.  Each plan will have key performance indicators set in order to monitor the progress of each implementation stage.  The plan will be reviewed annually and provide provision to monitor the Park’s progress and improvement in order to comply with Green Globe Sector Benchmarking Indicators and with EcoTourism Australia criteria.

Our whole of business strategy is designed to not only reduce our footprint on the environment, but to attempt to impact the thoughts and actions of as many people as we can. Our entire team is dedicated to our course of action and we aim to be a leader in our field.

ANDREW DAFF                                                                       First Published September 2005      

Manager                                                                                 Last Revision: 29 September 2009