From arriving to your destination to getting around town, have you ever taken a moment to consider how the way you get from A to B is impacting the environment? While walking is obviously the best way to see the city in terms of your environmental impact – it’s also made easy by plenty of well-kept, beautiful pathways, too – it’s certainly not the most efficient, so why not rent a bike or an electric scooter and cruise the many bike paths to speed things up a bit? The Gold Coast is also home to an impressive tram network, which cuts down both traffic congestion and air pollution. Hop on at Surfers Paradise North (just an four-minute walk from Paradise Resort) and ride the rail all the way to Helensvale in the north or Broadbeach in the south. It’s a fun, eco-friendly way to see the city.
You probably do this at home, so it only makes sense to switch off all of the lights and air conditioning when you leave your Paradise Resort apartment for the day, too. Sure, you don’t have the threat of racking up a huge electricity bill hanging over your head when you’re on holidays, but the environmental costs of wasting unnecessary electricity could actually outweigh the financial ones.
One study from Boston University showed that if everyone on campus turned off one light for just one hour a day, for one year, it would cut down 1,161,000 pounds of CO2 – the equivalent of taking 97 cars off the road for a whole year. Keep that in mind next time you think leaving the light on for the day won’t make a difference!
The Great Plastic Bag Ban of 2018 alerted people to the possibility of a world without single-use plastic, and it’s never been easier to cut down on those wasteful items – even when you travel. Make sure you have a canvas or reusable bag on you at all times, even if you’re not planning on doing any grocery shopping.
You can find compact bags that will fit into your handbag or tote bag with ease, and you never know when they will come in handy. It’s common for Gold Coast cafes not to offer plastic straws or cutlery, so consider purchasing your own reusable utensil kit, complete with a metal straw, to have on you when you travel. And when it comes to your morning coffee, invest in a reusable coffee cup so that you don’t have to rely on wasteful takeaway cups. They’re this year’s travel essential!
The Gold Coast is home to a number of awesome local businesses, many of which also happen to be eco-friendly, too. From locally-made goods (that don’t have the huge carbon footprint that imported goods do), to organically grown produce, there are so many ways you can spend your money in an eco-friendly way.
DID YOU KNOW You can make a positive impact on the environment by drinking local beer. Yep, ‘beer mileage’ is totally a thing – the further your beer has had to travel to end up in your hand, the bigger its carbon footprint. Luckily, the Gold Coast is also home to a number of quality brewers, with delicious products for you to sample. Sustainability has never tasted this good!
Our green and clean environment initiatives target some key ways that hotels can make smarter switches to reduce our impact on the environment.
- Planet Chill has reduced its greenhouse emissions by 60 per cent using a new, state of the art chilling unit. This reduces energy costs by 65 per cent over traditional cooling units and is regulated throughout the year against outdoor temperatures.
- All lighting at Paradise Resort is equipped with LED light fittings, using at least 75 per cent less energy, and lasting up to 25 times longer
- We’re recycling! We ensure recycling bins are available in public areas and we are efficiently managing our waste.
- Guest can choose an Eco Clean room service, choosing not to replace bed linen and towels to save water and energy.
- Carpark lights operate on motion sensors greatly decreasing energy consumption.
- Resort-wide lights are on timers during the night and adjust monthly with sunrise/sunset times.
- Our plants and trees are suited to local climate, soils and natural water availability to save excess watering.
News
23/08/2023
