Adelaide Convention Centre has become the world’s first convention centre to secure EarthCheck’s coveted Master status – a 15-year commitment to best practices in business and environmental sustainability.
EarthCheck is the world’s leading business advisory group specialising in sustainability and destination management for the travel and tourism industry. Adelaide Convention Centre has actively participated in the global EarthCheck programme since 2007, consistently performing at above best practices in several key areas of social and environmental actions.
The venue’s 2022/2023 EarthCheck audit highlights included:
- Adelaide Convention Centre achieved a greater than 99 per cent diversion from landfill rate, the highest recorded rate of any convention centre in Australia;
- Adelaide Convention Centre’s average Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions are 72 per cent lower than the Australian convention centre average, and more significantly, 60 per cent lower than the next best-recorded competitor within the Australian region; and,
- Adelaide Convention Centre’s average potable water consumption was measured at 73 per cent lower than the Australian convention centre regional average, and 47per cent lower than all other recorded convention centres in Australia.
The venue also recently installed Adelaide’s first WasteMaster – an innovative on-site food and organic waste recycling system, which converts food waste to high-value uses, including energy production, fertiliser and compost. Since the WasteMaster’s May 2023 installation, it has processed more than 43 tonnes of organic waste and produced more than 15 tonnes of nutrient-rich fertiliser.
Adelaide Convention Centre also operates a comprehensive food redistribution programme, which has seen the venue donate more than 200,000 unused meals to support local community organisations OzHarvest, Foodbank and Faithworks.
Adelaide Convention Centre’s sustainability efforts extend to supporting local producers, with 97 per cent of produce sourced from South Australian suppliers. Partnerships with local First Nations producers to plant, grow and supply native ingredients specifically for the venue’s Honest Goodness menu have also been cultivated.
Since 2018, the Adelaide Convention Centre’s energy consumption has been reduced by more than 40 per cent, thanks to a variety of different activities, including a staged transition to LED lighting. Currently, 70 per cent of lighting fixtures across the venue are LED, with a target to achieve 100% LED lighting by 2027.
Martin Radcliffe, general manager of Adelaide Convention Centre, added that a “dedicated ESG manager” has recently been employed to oversee the delivery and implementation of our sustainability strategy.
