Tourism Australia research shows that 77% of international holidaymakers consider sustainability important in their everyday lives, while 70% say it is important in the way they choose to travel.
At the same time, the European Commission has highlighted the difficulty consumers face when navigating environmental claims and labels. Its research found that 53% of green claims were vague, misleading or unfounded, while 40% had no supporting evidence at all.
New European consumer protection rules are set to change how environmental claims are communicated.
From 27 September 2026, European Union member states will begin applying laws introduced under the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive.
The Directive is designed to strengthen consumer protection against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims.
While this is EU legislation, its influence is likely to extend beyond European borders. Australian accommodation providers promoted to European travellers through international platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com may increasingly be expected to meet the same standards of clear, credible and substantiated environmental communication.
For Australian tourism, this could mark an important shift: sustainability marketing will increasingly need to move from promises to proof.
And we couldn’t be more delighted.
Sustainability Claims in Australian Tourism
A casual look at listing platforms such as Airbnb reveals hundreds of short-stay accommodation providers describing themselves as ‘eco’ or making claims about their sustainability.
However, most have no certification to substantiate those claims. And even where certification exists, there is often little publicly available evidence demonstrating what those claims mean in practice.
Australia has already identified sustainability as a strategic priority for its visitor economy. The National Sustainability Framework for the Visitor Economy sets an ambition for Australia to become a world leader in sustainable tourism, with sustainability encompassing environmental and climate action, culture and positive social impact.
In other words, Australian tourism is already moving in broadly the same direction as European policy.
How the EU Greenwashing Rules Are Changing Sustainability Claims
What the EU Directive will demand is simple in principle: fewer vague claims and more evidence.
For example:
- How does a business manage energy and water?
- How does it reduce waste?
- How does it protect biodiversity?
- How does it support regional communities?
- How does it engage with the local Indigenous community?
- Where does visitor revenue go?
- What conservation projects does the business support?
- What remains to be done?
Sustainability used to be primarily a brand story. It is now becoming an evidence story.
Native woodland
How Highfield Farm & Woodland Substantiates Its Sustainability Claims
Well, we haven’t been waiting for the EU Directive to act. We’ve been working to substantiate our sustainability and ecotourism claims for years.
Certifications
We have been certified by Ecotourism Australia since 2023. Kestrel Nest and our on-farm tours and experiences are certified at Advanced Ecotourism level, and we also hold Ecotourism Australia’s Climate Action certification.
Ecotourism Australia is the peak body for ecotourism and sustainable tourism in Australia. Its certification is independently audited against more than 300 criteria covering environmental, cultural, socio-economic and management performance.
Our DarkSky Approved Lodging certification provides further independent evidence of our responsible lighting practices. It not only attests to the quality of our night sky and the limited light pollution around Kestrel Nest; it also demonstrates that our lighting practices align with best practice.
That matters because light pollution can have significant impacts on wildlife. For us, DarkSky certification is therefore not simply about stargazing. It is also an important part of environmental protection.
Emissions Calculations
We have been calculating emissions from Kestrel Nest since 2023. We later found that the tool we had been using was not sufficiently robust for our needs.
Rather than continue with calculations we could not confidently stand behind, we decided to start again and establish 2024–25 as our new benchmark year.
In addition, our whole-farm Natural Capital Profile was assessed in 2023.
Impact Report
Emissions accounting is only one part of how we measure and report our environmental and social impact.
Our 2025–26 Impact Statement Report records the practical actions we are taking across Highfield Farm & Woodland. These include protecting 222 hectares of Box Gum Grassy Woodland, enhancing 111 hectares of native temperate grasslands, and planting 5,000 locally native plants since Kestrel Nest EcoHut opened.
The report also documents how we work with guests on waste minimisation, contribute to citizen science and act across a range of other environmental and social measures.
Environmental Projects
Our environmental work extends beyond the conservation areas we manage. Our website outlines the environmental projects underway across Highfield, all aimed at enhancing biodiversity, restoring habitat and strengthening connections between existing areas of native vegetation.
Ancient gums fenced for protection
First Nations Culture and Heritage
We acknowledge that we live, work and host guests on Wiradjuri Country. That acknowledgement comes with a responsibility to understand and respect the cultural heritage of the land on which we operate.
In 2016, and again in 2026, cultural heritage assessments were undertaken at Highfield Farm & Woodland. These assessments identified important men’s and women’s cultural sites, scar trees, stone tools and other evidence of cultural heritage. Members of the local Aboriginal Land Council have also visited Highfield Farm to inspect and discuss these sites.
Sustainability Is an Ongoing Commitment
Sustainability is never a finished project. It is an ongoing endeavour that requires us to keep improving, measuring and learning.
The EU Directive places greater emphasis on evidence behind environmental claims. We see that as a positive development.
It encourages businesses to move beyond simply saying they are sustainable and instead demonstrate what they do, how they do it and what difference it makes.
While the Directive is focused on protecting European consumers from greenwashing, we hope it will also help elevate Australian tourism towards more transparent, credible and responsible sustainability communication.
We invite your questions.
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