Destination Cambridge Wins Sustainability Award

The Cambridge i-SITE and Destination Cambridge took out two awards at the 2019 Waipa Business Awards – Excellence in Business: Small and the award for Excellence in Community Contribution and Sustainability.

Destination Cambridge CEO Miff Macdiarmid said the team was thrilled to win two awards. “Particularly the community and sustainability one as we have been chipping away at initiatives in these areas,” she said. “It’s nice to think the small steps are adding up to progress."

Miff is a keen advocate for the Tourism Sustainability Commitment. She and her team at the i-SITE / Destination Cambridge went through the 14 Commitments and picked the ones where they could effect change within their means. Miff says "Nothing was ground breaking - it was just a series of adjustments and initiatives." 

Examples of changes they made include:
- measured printing costs and quantity and reduced this by 33%;
- supported staff to get involved in community initiatives such as Predator Free Cambridge;
- conciously sourced retail products from local suppliers NZ Made;
- introduced a compost option to the staff kitchen;
- installed a Bike Rack and Water Fountain at the i-SITE, with help from Council and community grants.

Miff says "We ended up winning the Waipa Business Awards "Sustainability and Community Award" due in large part to this process - so give sustainability a go - there is nothing to lose."