Tourism Sweep in Sustainable Business Awards

Friday 4 June 2004

Tourism Sweep in Sustainable Business Awards

Businesses operating in the tourism sector took out all three business categories and the supreme award at the Environment Bay of Plenty Sustainable Business Awards held in Rotorua on Thursday night. Waimangu Volcanic Valley, a geothermal tourist attraction near Rotorua, won the medium sized business category and was the supreme award winner. Ohiwa Holiday Park won the small business category while Comvita, which opened a visitor centre in 2002, won the large business section.

Calum Revfem, regional manager of the BOP Sustainable Business Network (SBN) says the fact that operators in the visitor industry took out all business categories “is evidence of the growing awareness in that sector for the need to be sustainable. All of the winners had a system in place to identify, monitor and improve their sustainability performance”.

Priority One, the economic development agency for the Western Bay of Plenty won the Sustainable Economic Development award. Commendations for the Innovation category were awarded to Recell Ltd, Ballance Agri Nutrients and Bay Timber Treatment.

Run by SBN, the awards recognise outstanding sustainable business practice in small, medium and large sized enterprises, sustainability innovation and sustainable economic development. A panel of expert judges from around the country assessed the entries and undertook site visits to make the awards.

The awards were supported by Environment Bay of Plenty, the major sponsor, as well as the University of Waikato Management School, TrustPower, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Rotorua District & Tauranga City Councils and Bartercard.

ENDS

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