Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group recently committed to eliminating all single-use plastics across its entire portfolio by the end of March 2021. Already the brand is working to remove single-use drinking bottles and plastic straws from its properties, but the new commitment extends efforts to all operational departments. The brand identified 23 single-use plastics in use across the portfolio and 86 percent of those items are either currently eliminated or being phased out.

“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, CEO, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

“We recognize 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.”

As part of its commitment, Mandarin Oriental plans to release an update on its progress every six months, with the first report due out in March 2020.