Coffs Coast Business News - July 2024

Each month, the City of Coffs Harbour's Economic Development & Tourism Team collates information for all businesses, large and small, across the Coffs Coast - helping you stay informed, keep connected, and feel supported.

We hope you find the newsletter valuable - please feel free to forward it to colleagues and your team. They can also subscribe to receive a copy directly.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Business events and training

• Coffs Agrifood Living Lab: Boosting Coffs' Agrifood Industry - Tuesday 23 July
• The Great Business Goals Reset - Wednesday 24 July
• Coffs Coast Business Women's Network Lunch - Thursday 25 July
• Teeing up for a cause - Sunday 28 July

Local news and opportunities

• Coffs Coast Marketing
• Coffs Coast Explorer App
• National Parks and Wildlife Service - Plan of Management

Grant funding and business support

• Coffs Harbour Grant Finder

• NSW EPA – Bin Trim Equipment Rebates Program

• Australian Business Growth Fund

• Changes for businesses from 1 July 2024

• National Sustainability Framework and Toolkit for the Visitor Economy

What's On Coffs Coast and major event calendar

BUSINESS EVENTS & TRAINING

Connect with the agrifood industry & hear from inspiring speakers

Are you a producer, farmer, food & beverage manufacturer, cafe owner, restaurateur or business owner in the Coffs Coast agrifood sector?  

Be part of an evening filled with engaging discussions and exciting collaborations at 'Boosting Coffs' Agrifood Industry'. Connect with other local foodies, hear from industry leaders, and learn about the latest Coffs Agrifood Living Lab (CALL) updates.

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS
Hear from special guest speakers Nicole McNaughton, CEO of the Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN)  Andy Eves-Brown, CEO of TURBINE. Both Nicole and Andy will share insights from their experiences collaborating with producers and manufacturers across the Sunshine Coast.

Learn how these partnerships have unlocked new opportunities for the agrifood sector and how the TURBINE precinct idea became a reality through strong stakeholder involvement and community drive. These are real-world examples you don’t want to miss!  

Tuesday 23 July, 5.30pm - 8.30pm
Level 1, Coffs Central Shopping Centre, 61 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour

LOCAL NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES

DESTINATION COFFS COAST MARKETING

Check out this monthly snapshot of Destination Coffs Coast's current and upcoming marketing activities, campaigns, and news stories. These are created and managed by our team, in collaboration with local businesses and partners including Coffs Harbour Airport. Here's what's happening:

• QANTAS A220: Qantas’ new aircraft lands in Aussie hotspot
• Better Homes and Gardens to film upcoming segment featuring the Coffs Coast
• Coffs Coast Blog: A DOG-FRIENDLY ADVENTURE IN COFFS CITY CENTRE
• Coffs Coast Blog: DISCOVER THE HEART AND SOUL OF COFFS COAST THROUGH THE CITY CENTRE STREET ART TRAIL
• Australian Traveller: 6 unsung train journeys you need to know about 
• Australian Traveller EDM: Coffs Coast feature (sent to 55,000 subscribers) 
• Coffs Coast website: July Holiday Deals

ALL COFFS COAST BUSINESSES are invited to share these campaigns in their business marketing. This is a great way to bring people from out of the area to your business - and the content is already created for you!

Coffs Coast Explorer App is ready to roll!

Packed with trails, stories, information, and events, the Coffs Coast Explorer App allows visitors and locals to experience the Coffs Coast in a completely new and unique way. This is a great way for your front-line staff to share and engage with visitors to the region.

Does your business offer accommodation, attractions, events, hire, food and drink, or tours? You'll need an Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) listing to feature on the app. List your business

Adoption of Dorrigo National Park, Bindarri National Park and Bindarri State Conservation Area Plan of Management

The Dorrigo National Park, Bindarri National Park and Bindarri State Conservation Area protect important koala habitat and ancient Gondwanan rainforests that were once widespread across eastern Australia. These parks are key regional tourism attractions and make an important contribution to the regional economy. 

The plan of management provides for the ongoing protection of the parks’ significant natural and cultural values. It will also ensure that visitors have an opportunity to experience and learn about the Gondwana rainforests through world-class facilities and interpretation, including the proposed new visitor centre and multi-day walk.

GRANT FUNDING & BUSINESS SUPPORT

COFFS HARBOUR GRANT FINDER

The City of Coffs Harbour provides a free service for locals to find grants and grant writing tips. Register to be notified of specific grants for your business or organisation.

NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK AND TOOLKIT FOR VISITOR ECONOMY BUSINESSES

Over the last few months, we have introduced the four pillars of sustainability:

• Taking a managed approach
• Environmental and climate action
• Respecting culture
• Creating positive social impact

As the above image depicts, all four pillars work symbiotically to protect Australia's unique natural and cultural assets, now and into the future. Each business will approach its sustainability journey in a different way, however, the pillars provide guidance for all businesses. Businesses are also encouraged to approach sustainability holistically, linking actions across pillars and not treating them in isolation. For example, some environmental actions (pillar 2) can be taken via engagement with First Nations peoples (Pillar 3).

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR SUSTAINABILITY STORY? 
Talking about your sustainability achievements with your customers and community can establish a competitive advantage where your sustainable practices become a point of difference. Communicating about sustainability also helps your employees, customers and wider community understand your values so you can work collectively towards common goals.

HOW TO BACK UP YOUR CLAIMS? 
If you’re making environmental claims about your products, services, and operations, it’s important to have evidence to avoid risking claims of greenwashing or greenhushing. What do these words mean?

Greenwashing: Making unsubstantiated or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or company.
Greenhushing: Staying silent about genuine sustainability achievements, often due to fear of criticism for not doing enough.

Other actions to consider:

• Do not leave out or hide important information
• Explain any condition or qualification on your claims
• Avoid broad and unqualified claims
• Use clear and easy-to-understand language
• Visual elements should not give the wrong impression
• Be direct and open about your sustainability transition

FIND OUT MORE
See pages 51 - 56 in the toolkit, and visit the Promote your sustainable business webpage for additional information that can be used by all Coffs Coast businesses.

WHAT'S ON @ COFFS COAST

Please reach out to our team at City of Coffs Harbour if you have any questions.

Check out our 6 degrees business support website for business events and resources.
For tourism industry and visitor economy business support and information, go to our Coffs Coast tourism industry hub.

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