Brisbane has solidified its reputation as Australia's cleanest, greenest, and most sustainable city, achieving significant milestones in recent years. In 2023, Brisbane became the first Australian city to be awarded a gold certification in the United Nations Habitat’s Sustainable Development Goals Cities program. 

Each year, Brisbane takes part in the Global Destination Sustainability Index, a trusted performance improvement program that assesses and accelerates the progress of 100 global destinations' regenerative journey. In 2024, Brisbane retained its spot for the second year in the Top 40, coming in at number 33 and improving its sustainability score by 3%.

In 2024, Brisbane achieved Bronze Benchmarking status by EarthCheck, one of the world's leading global environmental management and advisory groups for the travel and tourism industry. Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) and Brisbane City Council, supported by grant funding from the State Government, partnered to attain global accreditation for the city, with Brisbane exceeding best practice benchmarks across key categories including social, environmental and economic sustainability.