While the travel industry has already made great strides towards the removal of plastic straws and single-use drinking bottles.

The Group is keen to play its part in the luxury hotel segment and commit to a wider and more challenging aim to abolish all single-use plastic currently in use across all operational departments, including rooms, spa, transport, restaurants and bars by the end of March 2021.

The aim is to cover plastics used in all areas of the hotel, and not just in the public areas that the customer sees.

To achieve this, an elimination campaign has been underway for some time at all properties. Having completed a thorough stock inventory, the Group identified 23 of the most common items of single-use plastic currently in use across the portfolio. To date, 86% of these initial items have been eliminated or are being phased out in all hotels. Given the considerable progress which has already been made, the Group is now ready to make a firm commitment towards total elimination.

“Plastic waste is one of the gravest environmental concerns affecting our planet today. While our relatively small footprint limits our contribution to the world’s plastic reduction, as one of the most iconic luxury global hotel groups we are in a strong position to drive important changes in the industry,” said James Riley, Group Chief Executive.

“We recognise that to achieve complete elimination while maintaining our luxury service standards is a challenge, but to drive change we must set ambitious goals. The elimination of single-use plastic is only one part of the Group’s wider initiative to operate in a responsible and sustainable way across our portfolio,” he added.

The efforts currently underway include testing concepts and inviting colleagues from every hotel to find solutions which can then be shared as best practice internally. Mandarin Oriental is also collaborating with its suppliers to drive responsible procurement and provide alternative products that are both viable and suitable for the luxury hotel environment.

All hotels have clearly-defined annual goals to address these issues, and in order to remain accountable to guests, colleagues and the wider community, progress reports will be issued every six months highlighting both their achievements and any difficulties encountered. The first report which will be published at the end of March 2020.