OUR MISSION

Committed to Environmental Stewardship

Our mission is to create environmentally sustainable environments where people live, work, and play.

Core

Beliefs

The healthy functioning of our planet's ecosystems -- our air, water, and land, and the vast diversity of life on Earth -- is worth preserving. 

  • There are places on Earth where human activity should be limited.

  • Maintaining healthy and functioning ecosystems begins at the local level with policies and practices that protect watersheds, promote biodiversity, and sustain natural resources.

  • Not only must people take steps to minimize negative impacts to the environment in human-dominated areas of the world, but also strive to enhance the health and functioning of ecosystems where we live.

  • Finding a sustainable balance among environmental, economic, and social systems is key to sustaining the quality of life for all of Earth's inhabitants. Our human communities can and must be balanced within the limits of the natural world.

  • By becoming good stewards of the environment, people and organizations can help to protect and sustain the land, water, wildlife, and natural resources around them.

  • Scientific information, in conjunction with public participation, should be used to guide the planning, design, development, and management of human communities.

  • While laws, rules, and regulatory approaches have been, and can be, important tools for protecting and enhancing our natural environment (ecosystems), voluntary efforts are an effective and essential means to protect and enhance the natural environment as well.

  • Effective collaboration and partnerships among nonprofits, governments, businesses, and the public can lead to better environmental decision-making and can improve the quality of our human and natural communities.

Audubon International made it possible for us to make our resort as sustainable as it is. In 2005, when we began this journey, Audubon was the only eco-rating program for hotels that we could find that actually came to the facility and helped ascertain the best way to operate your business sustainability and profitability at the same time. The program has been invaluable to us

Jenn Holderied
Director of Marketing & Owner | Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort

History

In 1987, the Audubon Society of New York State was born, or perhaps more accurately, reborn. First established nearly 100 years earlier by conservation giants Theodore Roosevelt, Frank Chapman, and John Burroughs, this original Audubon group from New York ceased meeting by the mid-1930s. Nearly five decades later, we re-instated the charter as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit under a broader banner of environmental education and sustainable resource management. Very quickly, the reach of our environmental and certification programs expanded beyond New York.

As a result, in 1996, the organization began doing business as Audubon International to better reflect the true scope of its operations. Audubon International is still incorporated as the Audubon Society of New York State. Although we have no formal affiliation with the National Audubon Society or the other 500-plus Audubon organizations worldwide, we work and partner with many of these groups to promote common goals.

Through education, technical assistance, certification, and recognition, Audubon International puts environmentally sustainable management practices in place around the world. We positively impact environmental health at multiple geographic scales, from individual properties to entire communities and eco-regions. Several of our longstanding education and certification programs have received national awards.

In fact, throughout its history, Audubon International has enrolled over 4,000 properties in the golf & recreation and  hospitality industries, the wider business community and private and public communities in our rigorous certification programs. We built our success by developing unique relationships with a wide range of interested partners, including small businesses, large corporations, academic institutions, fellow not-for-profits, community associations, local governments, and state and federal agencies.

We're particularly proud that the United States Golf Association (USGA) has been a strong supporter of Audubon International's sustainability efforts in the golf industry, providing over $2 million over twenty years to offset fees associated with administering the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.