Melbourne was ranked 11 out of 81 cities, up from 24th place last year, while Brisbane was the second highest placed Australian city at 16 – up from 33 in 2024. Sydney has dropped in the rankings, slipping from number 10 last year to 25 this year.
Melbourne was also singled out as the best mega city of the index, beating out Singapore, Barcelona, Berlin and Dublin, who made up the rest of the top five cities with populations of over 1.5 million.
“Melbourne’s top ranking in the GDS-Index is a testament to the power of collaboration across our city,” said Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO, Julia Swanson.
“From government and industry to our venues and suppliers, we’ve worked together to embed sustainability into the fabric of our business events sector.
“This recognition reflects our shared commitment to creating lasting social and environmental impact, and it reinforces Melbourne’s position as a global leader in sustainable business events.”
Melbourne Convention Bureau oversees Melbourne’s interface with the GDS-Index and worked closely with the City of Melbourne on the submission for rankings this year.
“From green buildings to inclusive community programs, we are embedding climate action into everything we do,” said Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Nicholas Reece.
“This recognition reflects the strength of our partnerships and the passion of our people to build a cleaner, greener and fairer Melbourne for generations to come.”
The Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), which produces the index, identified Adelaide as the most improved of all cities assessed for the Index, rising 23 places since its 2024 debut in the index, to be placed 54th this year.
The GDS-Movement attributed Adelaide’s “dramatic rise” to “its ambitious Integrated Climate Strategy 2030 and the launch of its first sustainability roadmap”. Adelaide Airport becoming Australia’s first carbon neutral airport for direct emissions was noted as a particular achievement.
“We are delighted that Adelaide has been recognised as the most improved destination in only our second year of participation,” said Business Events Adelaide’s CEO, Damien Kitto.
“Our aim in 2024 was to understand how Adelaide compared with other destinations, and it is fantastic to see such a significant improvement in such a short time.”
“Adelaide has a great sustainability story to tell, being a city in a park with easy, walkable accessibility.
“GDS-Movement provides a stamp of approval to validate our initiatives.
“It enables us to present Adelaide as a clean and green destination with confidence, and we are grateful to our Team Adelaide partners for their support in helping us to achieve this award.”
Globally, the top 10 cities were all in Europe, with a particular concentration in Scandinavian cities.
Helsinki was ranked first, followed by Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Glasgow, Tampere, Aarhus, Lyon, Belfast and Reykjavik.
The GDS-Index looks at environmental and social sustainability as well as sustainability amongst suppliers and in destination management.
“Every destination featured in the GDS-Index has demonstrated leadership and commitment – each one deserving recognition for its efforts to build a more regenerative future,” said CEO of GDS-Movement, Guy Bigwood.
“As we mark the 10th year of the GDS-Index – with 626 benchmarking assessments completed across 35 countries since 2016 – one thing has remained constant: the courage of this community to lead with vision and to innovate with purpose.
“From shifting seasonality to changing governance and a pushback against sustainability, members of the movement meet each wave with intention, creativity and a fierce resolve to do better, faster, together.
“It’s not just about riding the wave, it’s about learning how to read it, shape it and surf it to make it count.”
