Sustainable travel: eco-friendly initiatives

At Novotel Brisbane South Bank, we are excited to champion the future by implementing various sustainable practices and eco-friendly solutions. Our commitment to the environment means we strive to minimize our ecological footprint while providing exceptional hospitality. And goes hand-in-hand with the evolving travel needs, ensuring every stay with us not only meets our guests’ requirements but also aligns with their social responsibility goals.

Banning all single-use plastic amenities

Single-use plastics harm the environment significantly as they take hundreds of years to decompose. This poses a threat to wildlife and ecosystems as they break down into microplastics, which can then be ingested by animals such as turtles and ultimately find their way into the food chain, including human consumption. This is why a major initiative that we have completed is to eliminate all single-use plastic amenities. As hotel accommodation in South Bank Brisbane, we are proud of the positive impact that this will make on the local environment and the wider environment as a whole.

We have replaced all single-use hair wash, lotion and soaps with mounted refillable dispensers which are made from 100% recyclable materials and eco-conscious products. In addition to this, we have replaced the packaging of these with environmentally friendly alternatives, ensuring a more sustainable and enjoyable stay for our guests.

Reducing food waste

Another initiative we have embraced is the reduction of kitchen food waste. Minimising food wastage is crucial for advancing towards a sustainable food system. The food production significantly contributes to deforestation and consumes considerable resources like water and energy, often requiring extensive transportation. Therefore, reducing food wastage means preserving these vital resources involved in production.

Through partnerships with local producers for fresh regional products and initiatives to minimise food waste, we actively promote responsible practices among our guests, delivering a conscientious hospitality experience and being one of the best hotels in South Bank Brisbane.

An exemplary demonstration of this ethos is our Tooth Fish special. Our Executive Chef sources the entire fish, ensuring every component serves a purpose.

The bones contribute to a flavourful stock, while the belly and trimmings are repurposed into nutritious staff meals. The delectable fillets become the focal point, allowing us to showcase the essence of the Tooth Fish deliciously and sustainably.

Reduce our carbon footprint

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, emitted directly or indirectly by human activities.

To reduce our carbon footprint as a hotel and event venue in Brisbane, we encourage our guests hosting an event or large group accommodation to calculate the carbon footprint their experience using the NET ZERO CARBON CALCULATOR and invest in carbon projects of their choice to balance emissions.

Rethinking the bed linen and towel change to reduce energy and water

We also promote and encourage responsible practices from our guests as well. This includes asking our guests to hang their towels up if they do not wish for them to be changed. To save energy and water, sheets are also customarily changed every third day of a stay however guests do have the option to request a change by using a card that is placed in the room.

These are just a few initiatives we have introduced in our efforts to be a sustainable hotel. Recently, we achieved a major milestone, the prestigious Sustainable Tourism Certification from Ecotourism Australia.

Introduced in 2022 and recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), this certification assesses four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, environmental impacts, cultural impacts and socio-economic impacts.

We remain inspired and dedicated to continually strive for excellence and introduce more initiatives.