Charter Events

The Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter holds events for Charter members and other interested parties from time to time.  These events are typically of a workshop and/or site visit nature, where attendees have the opportunity to increase their knowledge of sustainable practices and network with other like minded people.

If you would like to be included in upcoming events please contact Gina George @ Destination Rotorua Tourism Marketing - email gina@rotoruaNZ.com or DDI (07) 349 7289.

Sustainability in Action @ The Buried Village - 18 March 2008

The Buried Village was the site of the Charter’s Sustainability in Action March 2008 function.  Pam McGrath, Managing Director of The Buried Village took the group on a guided tour of the site noting actions taken and planned that will improve sustainability of the site.

"Involving tangata whenua in development plans is an important part of telling the story of Rotorua’s heritage” Pam McGrath, The Buried Village

Pam is passionate about realizing her father’s plans for the sustainable development of The Buried Village and is adamant in avoiding over-commercializing the site.  The Tuhourangi people are the tangata whenua (people of the land) of Te Wairoa Village (also known as The Buried Village) and are closely consulted regarding development plans with sites of cultural importance being left unexcavated and many Tuhourangi descendants being employed as guides.  From an operational perspective Pam leaves no stone unturned in the quest for continual improvement in sustainability.  From waste management, to energy conservation, staff morale and native plant regeneration The Buried Village has realized measurable financial cost savings while minimizing the negative impacts of site development on the physical environment and the local community. Click here>>> to view the detailed Buried Village fact sheet for this event including actions taken to improve the sustainability of the site.

Rotorua’s Energy Champion Kevin McGrath made a presentation on topical energy issues businesses typically need to address.  The Rotorua Energy Champion project aims to assist energy users in developing an energy strategy that best meets their energy needs.  A key tool to assist energy users is the new www.energychampion.co.nz website, which provides comprehensive information to enable users to best manage their energy resources for optimum energy efficiency and effectiveness.  Particularly for commercial energy users Kevin urges people to consider energy at the design stage of building and think in terms of whole life cost rather than lowest upfront cost.  While choosing options based on whole life cost will possibly result in higher capital expenditure than the lowest cost option the rewards will be reaped in the form of lower energy consumption and reduced operating expenses, which over the long-term will result in financial savings to the business. Click here>>> to view the energy presentation by Kevin McGrath - Rotorua’s Energy Champion and don’t forget to check out the www.energychampion.co.nz website.

This Sustainability in Action function was kindly hosted by The Buried Village.

Sustainability in Action @ Rotorua Musuem - 18 September 2007

Following the 2007 Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter AGM at the Rotorua Museum, attendees were taken on a site visit of the museum to learn more about how sustainable business practices are integrated into the museum’s product offering and operations.

"Rotorua locals volunteering as guides are an important part of Rotorua’s stories”  Catherine Donovan, Rotorua Museum

Marketing manager, Catherine Donovan spoke about the history of the Bath House and how construction will finally be completed more than 100 years after first opening its doors in 1908.  At the time of construction (1902-1908) only 2000 people lived in Rotorua and building resources were limited.  The architect’s plans demanded high specifications and fine craftsmanship that proved to be difficult and expensive.  As a result of funding shortfalls the extreme northern wing was not built and only a portion of the southern wing was completed.

Operations manager Ken Buchanan explained how sustainability is considered in all aspects of the museum’s operations from energy conservation through installation of movement sensors in the exhibition halls to influencing change in their supply chain by insisting contractors use environmentally friendly products where possible.  The Museum is also taking a role in social responsibility by embracing local residents wanting to share the stories of Rotorua through its volunteer guiding program and allowing local residents free access to view the district’s treasures for which the museum is custodian of.  Click here>>> to view the detailed Rotorua Museum fact sheet for this event.

The 2007 Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter AGM and site visit was kindly hosted by the Rotorua Museum of Art and History.

Sustainability in Action @ Novotel Lakeside Rotorua - 26 June 2007

Novotel Lakeside Rotorua shared the sustainability actions taken by the Accor group with Charter members as part of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter series of Sustainability in Action functions.  Norman Turner, Maintenance Manager at Novotel and his colleagues treated Charter members to a “behind the scenes” tour of the hotel.

The Novotel team is passionate about embracing sustainability into the workplace.  To brighten up the staff utility area a local artist was contracted to paint a “graffiti wall” depicting the Accor values of trust, professionalism, transparency, innovation and responsibility.  Staff met with the artist and put forward their ideas and can now reflect on what part of the wall they “own”.

"The Accor values depicted on this wall are meaningful to Novotel staff” Norman Turner, Novotel Lakeside Rotorua

One of the more novel examples of solving sustainability issues Norman mentioned was instead of using a crane to change out banners on the front of the hotel the local rock climbing club get the job done by abseiling.  The rock climbers are a bunch of pranksters though.  In an effort to deter birds roosting along the roofline of the hotel decoy owls have been placed at various points - only thing is the owls are blindfolded thanks to some mischievous rock climbers!  Many more examples of improved sustainability were pointed out during the site visit that collectively point to a very strong ethos of sustainability permeating everything about Novotel Lakeside Rotorua.  All aspects of sustainability are addressed from resource saving actions to staff volunteering their time to participate in charitable events.

Click here>>> to view the detailed Novotel Lakeside Rotorua’s fact sheet for this Sustainability in Action event. PLAY YOUR PART not only think environmental sustainability, but also ways in which you can involve the community within your business.

Sustainability in Action @ Hell's Gate - 27 March 2007

Hell’s Gate was the site of the Charter’s second event in its series of Sustainability in Action functions.  Adam Hughes, Operations Manager at Hell’s Gate took the group on a guided tour of the thermal reserve and spa complex noting the actions taken and planned that will improve the sustainability of the site.  He is passionate about plans to regenerate native plantings in areas where blackberry and gorse has taken over.  There were many areas of sustainability that Adam spoke about that ranged from social responsibility to heritage linkages that had them looking to the past to learn that the site was formerly used for bathing and would be a viable development opportunity for the site go forward. Click here>>> to view the detailed Hell’s Gate fact sheet for this event and testimony of GOE use.

"We looked to the past to learn our future direction” Adam Hughes, Hell’s Gate and Wai Ora Spa

Following an afternoon tea of networking with peers, the group were presented with the benefits of using the enzyme based multi-purpose cleaner Grease and Odor Eliminator (GOE) by Thomas O’Leary of Waveline Pacific and Kylie Brackfield of Rotorua Drycleaners and Apparelmaster.  They commended Hell’s Gate and Buried Village on being bold enough to make a move away from their existing supply chains to a more sustainable option.  Thomas noted that there are sustainable products available that will not be an added cost to businesses and cited the example of Millennium Hotel Rotorua where replacing plastic liners in guest bins with interfolding paper towels has resulted in a 25% cost saving.  Not only should sustainable products not harm the environment, but they should also assist the natural processes occurring in the environment and while we cannot do everything, we do what we can by providing our customers with sustainable alternatives to their existing product choices. Click here>>>  to view the Waveline presentation on GOE. Click here>>>  to view the Buried Village testimony of GOE use.

This Sustainability in Action function was kindly hosted by Hell’s Gate and Wai Ora Spa.

Charter AGM and Rainbow Springs Site Visit - 28 November 2006

The 2006 Annual General Meeting of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter held at the Kiwi Encounter auditorium on 28 November 2006 resulted in our strongest ever turnout to a Charter function with 35 members at the AGM and a further two people joining us for the site visit of Rainbow Springs and Kiwi Encounter that followed.  There was some good debate and suggestions from the floor that will guide the Board in its duties over the coming year – minutes of the AGM will be circulated to Charter members within a fortnight.  All elected members of the Board indicated they would be happy to stand again for the coming year and were joined by three new elected members.

"Sustainability is always a part of what we do, it is not an increased burden on our operations" Stewart Brown, Rainbow Springs Ltd

This year, for the first time we combined the AGM with a site visit of a Charter member business to provide attendees with the added value of learning about a peer’s sustainability experiences.    Stewart and his team did a wonderful job in sharing their experiences towards increased sustainability.   For those that weren’t able to make the site visit, or just want to revisit the lessons he presented Click here >>> to link to Stewart's presentation (439KB).

The AGM venue and site visit were generously hosted by Rainbow Springs Ltd – a founding member of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter.

Preferred Supplier Function - 25 October 2006

The Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter group held a joint function with the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce to present the benefits of becoming a preferred supplier of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter.  Several key suppliers of Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter member businesses were invited to the function along with member businesses of the Chamber of Commerce.

" Suppliers must have a positive impact on the Charter brand" Click here >>> to view the preferred supplier function (420KB)

Preferred suppliers of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter will enjoy benefits such as referrals of business from the Assessor, being profiled on the Charter website and being recognised in the Charter e-bulletin for exemplary action taken to solve Charter member sustainability issues.

Click here >>> to download a preferred supplier information sheet (29KB)

Catering for this function was generously sponsored by Millennium Hotel Rotorua – a founding member of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter.

Sustainability in Action @ Waimangu Volcanic Valley - 25 July 2006

Ray Wells of Power Solutions kicked off the afternoon with a presentation about the energy status of New Zealand and moved onto practical suggestions for making energy efficiencies within both businesses and homes. Click here >>> to view Ray's presentation or contact Ray - phone (07) 349 8348; email r.wells@powereng.co.nz to find out more about how your business might benefit from an energy audit.      Following the presentation the group headed to Waimangu Volcanic Valley where Harvey James (CEO and Senior Shareholder of Waimangu Volcanic Valley) gave the group a brief overview of the path his team has taken in developing the valley into the award winning property it is today.  Harvey cited the obstacles overcome of an environmentally hazardous area and the opposition they faced in developing an area that is very dear to the hearts of New Zealanders.  In closing, Harvey emphasised that having a clear vision of the end result from the beginning smoothed the resource consent process and has built staff loyalty, as demonstrated by several staff members with tenures greater than five years. Click here >>> to view the notes of the Waimangu Volcanic Valley site visit