Besides the 4 organic food certification symbols, there are other environmental certification programmes available for encouraging the development and promotion of environmentally responsible business practices in New Zealand. Many of the businesses listed on this site are affiliated with one or more of these programmes. You'll see the symbol next to their listing.
Qualmark
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Qualmark is New Zealand tourism's official quality agency. Tourism NZ provides independent assessment of accommodation and tourism businesses to make it easier for the traveller to choose quality holiday experiences. When you see the Qualmark symbol it means that those businesses have been independently assessed against a set of national quality standards that have been developed with the traveller, in mind. It identifies professional and trustworthy businesses so you can book and buy with confidence.
The Qualmark quality assurance system has a star grading system for accommodation and an endorsement system for other tourism businesses such as adventure activities, attractions, cultural and nature experiences, coaches, rental cars and more.
The star ratings range from one star (acceptable):
- Meets customers' minimum requirements. Basic, clean, and comfortable accommodation.
– to 5 stars (exceptional)
:
Consistently achieves the highest quality levels with a wide range of facilities and services. Among the best in New Zealand.
For more info www.Qualmark.co.nz
Responsible Tourism
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Qualmark® is extending and enhancing its environmental and social assessment criteria for accommodation providers, visitor activities, transport and services.
For tourism businesses, this means meeting some 'minimum requirements' in this area, along with recognising operators who are actively participating in
* energy efficiency
* conservation initiatives
* waste management
* community activities
* water conservation
For visitors, it means that the Qualmark® represents environmental and social commitment as well as general quality indicators.
CarboNZero Programme
The CarboNZero programme is the world’s first internationally accredited greenhouse gas certification scheme for organisations, products, services and events.
They provide tools and guidelines to help you calculate your carbon footprint and identify emissions reduction opportunities. They then offer optional mitigation strategies through the provision of verified offsets from credible NZ projects – native forest regeneration, landfill gas and wind power projects. All clients are required to have an independent verification audit prior to certification.
Queen Elizabeth II National Trust
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The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust was created through the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust Act of 1977 for the protection in perpetuity of significant natural and cultural features on private land through Open Space Covenants. The Covenant, once established by an initiating passionate owner, can never be removed, and places management obligations on the land owner to protect the environment and is regularly inspected by QEII Trust Representatives. To date there are 95,000 hectares under protection with a QEII Trust Registered Covenant, many of which have exciting additional conservation projects happening with community involvement."
Additionally, the QEII Trust also purchases and owns protected property.
For more info www.openspace.org.nz