In October 2019, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group had committed to eliminating single-use plastic across its portfolio of luxury hotels by the end of March 2021. The global effects of Covid-19 have impacted this initiative.

An example of one of the most commonly used single- use plastic items is plastic water bottles. On-site water bottling has been introduced at the Group’s hotels in Hong Kong, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Taipei, Geneva, London, Miami and New York, with the view to rolling this initiative out groupwide. Current figures are encouraging; for example, Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur, has been able to eliminate almost half a million plastic water bottles from rooms and food and beverage facilities in a year.

Many of the other most commonly used plastic items have been replaced with eco-alternative materials – examples of which are sanitised, re-usable cloth laundry bags and shoe mitts, paper, metal or bamboo straws, natural loofahs, wooden spatulas and metal tasting spoons in the kitchens. Many bathroom amenities have been replaced with sustainably certified non-plastic alternatives, including cotton pads, razors, earbuds, shower caps and shaving foam.

Mandarin Hotels are also experimenting with wall mounted dispensers to replace small plastic shower gel, shampoo and conditioner containers, and are working with luxury brands such as Fig & Yarrow, and Diptyque to ensure they can be filled and re-filled with appropriate, chemical free produce.