Turtles swimming close to corals near Heron Island Resort

Sustainability at Heron Island

As a High Standard Operator with Advanced Ecotourism accreditation, Heron Island is focused on sustainability and working towards reducing our carbon footprint while increasing resilience to Climate Change.

Being located in one of the world best managed Marine Parks, the Great Barrier Reef, we operate to strict environmental management guidelines. In addition to this we are constantly working towards better sustainability and educational programs for our guests. 

Installation of Solar Power

In early 2021 we completed the first stage of installation of solar panels at Heron Island Resort. 118kW of Solar PV were installed via a sophisticated Diesel Hybrid Controller to offset daytime loads and reduce demand on the diesel gensets. The technology was pioneered about 10 years ago and has recently matured to the point where is was viable to install at Heron Island. This exciting first stage has also seen the installation of data acquisition equipment, essential to collect the high-resolution data needed to design the following stages, aimed at either reducing diesel usage even further or relegating it to backup use only.

Removal of single use plastics

Single use plastic have been removed from Heron Island. Including straws and single use plastic toiletries from all guest rooms - replaced with refillable containers. 

Air to Energy hot water systems

24 High Efficiency "Air to Energy" Hot water systems have been installed, reducing loads by approximately 40-60kWh/Day and reducing the amount of LP gas used.

Onsite sustainability

- Reducing waste by using a food composter, woodchipper and cardboard chipper
- Recycling all cans, plastic, cardboard, bottles, glass
- Use of 100% recycled material where possible for resort repairs and upgrades