InterContinental Hotels Group’s worldwide plastics and sustainability pledge: InterContinental Hotels Group announced today that its entire hotel estate of more than three quarters of a million guest rooms worldwide are to will switch to bulk-size bathroom amenities. The announcement also stated that the ongoing transition will be complete before the end of 2021.
Sustainably positiveBuilding on its efforts to reduce plastic waste as part of a broader sustainability agenda, this pledge makes IHG the first global hotel company to commit its total global estate to removing bathroom miniatures in favour of bulk-size amenities.
Keith Barr, CEO, IHG, commented: “It’s more important than ever that companies challenge themselves to operate responsibly – we know it’s what our guests, owners, colleagues, investors and suppliers rightly expect. Switching to larger-size amenities across more than 5,600 hotels around the world is a big step in the right direction and will allow us to significantly reduce our waste footprint and environmental impact as we make the change.
“We’ve already made great strides in this area, with almost a third of our estate already adopting the change and we’re proud to lead our industry by making this a brand standard for every single IHG hotel. We’re passionate about sustainability and we’ll continue to explore ways to make a positive difference to the environment and our local communities.”
IHG currently has an average of 200 million bathroom miniatures in use across its entire hotel estate every year. As the new brand standard is adopted between now and 2021, the company expects to see a significant reduction in plastic waste.
Sustainably negativeThis commitment builds on IHG’s pledge to remove plastic straws from its hotels by the end of 2019, and a number of broader waste reduction initiatives already in place. IHG remains a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index, and recently joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 network, signalling its commitment to working with cross-industry partners to build a more sustainable world.
Joe Murphy, Lead of the CE100, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said: “We welcome IHG’s action to reduce plastic waste through this new commitment. Achieving a circular economy will be a challenging journey, but by working together we can find solutions to design out waste, keep materials in use, and regenerate our environment.”
This move follows a trend with global hotel brands and their constituent hotels to set the agenda in changing procurement to meet guest expectations.
We recently reported on The Grand York, Yorkshire’s only five-star hotel and part of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts pledging to eliminate single use plastic by December 31. The hotel recently informed all its suppliers across the board that, if they cannot find an alternative form of packaging in time, then it will have no choice but to shop elsewhere.
Doubtless others will follow, and we look forward to reporting on further changes in hotel procurement policy that help to make our industry more sustainable.
We congratulate IHG on their sustainably positive contribution to hospitality worldwide.
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