Sustainability

Adelaide, Australia’s Most Sustainable Business Event Destination

Most Improved Award

Adelaide has been recognised on the world stage for its commitment to sustainability, being named Most Improved Destination for 2025 by the Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Movement.

The GDS-Movement is a pioneering international change agency that drives socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions worldwide. Its annual GDS-Index benchmarks destinations across 76 criteria and 300 sub-questions, assessing performance in Environmental, Social, Supplier, and Destination Management categories.

Adelaide’s 2025 Results

Most Improved Destination – awarded in just the second year of participation
54^th place overall – climbing 23 positions from 2024
• Environmental sustainability ranking: 12^th globally – the highest score among all Australian destinations

A Collaborative Effort

Adelaide’s submission to the GDS-Index was coordinated by Business Events Adelaide, with strong support from the South Australian Tourism Commission, the Adelaide Convention Centre, the City of Adelaide, and a wide range of local organisations.

A Clean, Green Future

With sustainability now a defining factor for business event organisers and delegates, Adelaide’s independent assessment by the GDS-Movement underscores its credentials as a progressive, clean, and green destination. From pioneering renewable energy initiatives to advancing green infrastructure, biodiversity projects and circular economy practices, Adelaide continues to demonstrate its commitment to building a resilient, inclusive sustainable future that sets new benchmarks for Australian and global cities alike.

Solar Farm

Climate Change
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change are important focuses for South Australia. Initiatives detailed in the Climate Change Action Plan 2021-25 put South Australia at the forefront of clean energy generation. It includes statewide goals of:

reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50%
achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and
achieving 100% net renewable energy generation by 2027

Our capital city is leading the way with the City of Adelaide becoming the first council in South Australia to use 100% renewable electricity in all its operations.
This includes the historic Adelaide Town Hall, community buildings, electric vehicle chargers, street lighting and traffic lights. All this energy, generated by wind and solar.

Nature

Zero Waste
It is not just in renewable energy that SA is demonstrating leadership, it has an impressive list of firsts when it comes to avoiding waste and landfill:
- SA was the first state to introduce deposits on beverage containers.
- The first to ban lightweight plastic bags.
- Legislation banning the sale, supply and distribution of single-use plastics came into effect from 1 March 2021 and was the first of its kind in Australia.

This was expanded in 2022 to include polystyrene cups, bowls, plates and clamshell containers, with further amendments planned for 2024 and 2025.

ACC City in a Park

Supplier Sustainability
Adelaide’s business event partners play their part in ensuring the destination achieves its sustainability goals.

A global leader in sustainability, Adelaide Convention Centre became the world’s first convention centre to achieve EarthCheck Master certification in 2023, reflecting over 15 years best practice in business, environmental and social sustainability. In its most recent EarthCheck audit, the Centre demonstrated its ongoing sustainability leadership by being identified as the leader in the Australian business events industry when it comes to not only minimising waste to landfill, but also potable water consumption, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. READ MORE

Indigenous painting

Social Sustainability
Adelaide is located on Kaurna land and the heritage, culture and history of the traditional owners is still celebrated today. South Australia was the first state to legislate a First Nations Voice to Parliament, demonstrating its commitment to implementing the Uluru ‘Statement from the Heart’. Adelaide residents have roots in more than 200 countries and observe over 100 faith systems.
Almost 15% of South Australia’s population consists of non-English speaking migrants, making it a vibrant and diverse melting pot. READ MORE

Business Events

Economic Sustainability
Business events are worth more than $2.5 billion annually to South Australia. Over the three years between 2021 and 2023, Business Events Adelaide secured 392 international and domestic business events. These resulted in 691,000 bed nights in city hotels – predominantly in the off-peak Monday to Thursday period – generating more than $678m directly into the State economy. Whilst business event delegate’s deliver a high daily spend – averaged at an impressive $632 per day compared to a tourist’s $179 - the State Government recognises they also deliver quantifiable long-term benefits to the economy from the economic tail.