Cairns & Great Barrier Reef launches new carbon offset programme
for events
Cairns & Great Barrier Reef has committed to driving the environmental sustainability of local flora and fauna and recently launched an innovative new platform changing how events interact with the planet
Cairns & Great Barrier Reef has committed to Australian-based Reforest’s mission to take real climate action in a way that actively benefits Tropical North Queensland and creates a tangible legacy for event delegates. Reforest is a new platform ensuring tree planting programmes are localised to the host destination.
PCO plants native trees
In March 2023, the first active tree planting project came to life, with professional conference organiser Arinex taking the opportunity to contribute financially to the removal of the non-travel related carbon emissions generated by the conference to plant native trees. The group immersed themselves in the tree planting, enjoyed a guided rainforest walk through what is left of the site and toured the nursery, where native seeds collected by volunteers are propagated and cared for prior to planting.
The Tropical North Queensland project is a collaboration between Reforest, environmental management organisation Terrain and the local community to revegetate the endangered ecosystem of the Wongabel Mabi Rainforest, just outside Cairns, which had previously been cleared for forestry and agriculture.
The significance of the Mabi Rainforest is relevant to the protection and conservation of the remaining 1050 ha of unique forest, the 114 bird species that call the habitat home and the near-threatened Lumholtz tree-kangaroo, or ‘Mabi’ in the local indigenous Dyirbal and Yidiny language.
How does it work?
Reforest calculates an event's high-level carbon footprint and offers event organisers options to partially or wholly offset their event by purchasing trees for planting in the project area. Associations can choose to add the total or partial cost of the project into the conference registration, engage a carbon offset sponsor and run a real-time event platform where delegates can donate additional funds to the project, which immediately impacts the destination and creates an important and genuine legacy for the future.
Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef and Reforest have recently conducted training sessions on the destination carbon offset programme with the newly refurbished and expanded Cairns Convention Centre and hotelier Crystalbrook Collection. As the project gains momentum, they will continue to work with more local operators to implement this unique, local and critical environmental project in their backyard.
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