PULLING THE PLUG ON PLASTIC
Global hotel group Accor has vowed to remove all single-use plastic items from guest use by the end of 2022 in a bid to reduce waste and pollution. As well as its previous promise to eliminate all plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, the new commitment includes removing individual plastic toiletry amenities and cups by the end of 2020 across its brands, including Novotel, Swissotel, Peppers, Ibis and Pullman. The group will also eliminate all remaining singleuse plastic items in guestrooms, meeting areas, restaurants and leisure activities areas, such as spas and gyms, by the end of 2022.
Single-use plastics are defined as disposable items that are used once and then thrown away, like plastic cups, plastic bags for laundry or extra pillows, water bottles, take-away dishes and keycards. Relevant alternatives will be proposed for each item. Many moves have already been made by the company to improve its environmental footprint. Fairmont Hotels, for example, has installed water filtration taps in guestrooms in place of bottled water. Accor's new brand, Greet, has no disposable plastic at breakfast, with reusable dishes used for butter and jam instead.
The Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, led by the UN Environment Programme and the World Tourism Organisation in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, draws a line in the sand in the fight against plastic waste and pollution.
“Plastic pollution is one of the major environmental challenges of our time, and tourism has an important role to play in contributing to the solution,” UN Environment Programme Economy Division Director Ligia Noronha says. “Through the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, tourism companies and destinations are supported to innovate, eliminate, and circulate the way they use plastics, to advance circularity in our economies and reduce plastics pollution globally.” group.accor.com
PLASTIC POLLUTION IS ONE OF THE MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME