YHA New Zealand is committed to a sustainable world because the hard reality is that every aspect of our hostel operations has an impact on the environment. This is something we simply can’t ignore - our success is inextricably tied to New Zealand’s clean green image. Due to our small population, environmentally friendly resources and geographical location, New Zealand has a real opportunity to be a sustainable nation and YHANZ is committed to doing its bit.
Not overnight But the path to sustainability is a long and arduous one and definitely does not happen overnight. We are making progress in a day-to-day, step-by-step way. We now have a whole bunch of sustainability initiatives that are part of our minimum standards and have been implemented into our hostels.
Walking the talk In the National Office Jonathon (Johno) Tunnell, our Sustainability Coordinator, keeps us all honest to make sure that we all really walk the talk. We’re getting back to basics, with a priority on greening up our own business first before working on external sustainable development. So Johno works closely with our dedicated hostel staff throughout the country to measure, manage and lessen the network’s environmental impact.
Don’t panic! You can see that sustainability is something we take pretty seriously at YHANZ but it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourselves while staying in our hostels. We want to make sustainable choices as easy as possible for you when you spend time with us.  It’s all very painless, and if you’re unsure what to do our staff are happy to help.

Why New Zealand’s special

Remember you will have a lot more fun in a New Zealand environment that’s full of wildlife,
native trees and crystal clean water than in one full of landfills, dirty water and CO²! Let’s maintain
our clean, green environment for all future generations to enjoy.

YHANZ embraces the sustainability choice, and we hope that you do too. 

Learn more about what we do.
Read our Sustainability News.

For more information, download our Statement of Commitment (142kb) and the
International Youth Hostel Federation Environmental Charter 
(you will need Acrobat Reader installed for both of these) or contact us.