A key contributor towards practicing sustainable hospitality in India, ITC Hotels now plans to make its properties single use plastic free. The hospitality brand intends to complete this mission by December, this year.
Following this, ITC aims to become the “first hotel chain in the world to achieve this distinction.”
As a part of this, ITC Hotels has built a cross functional task force, who has performed a detailed assessment to identify usage of single use plastic, possible alternatives and a plastic free roadmap for the coming years.
Following steps were carried out during the research:
- Identify each and every plastic item being used in the hotel.
- The focus was the elimination/substitute for these single use plastic items.
- Product alternatives were then identified, vendors searched and alternative product samples were obtained along with technical details, quality certificates and cost.
Some of the items which have already been replaced or are due to be replaced include water bottles, straw, stirrer, tooth brush, shoe shine, razor, comb, sewing kit, lid, garbage bag and gift wrapping paper.
Also, ITC has installed purification systems for quality drinking water across its hotels. Termed as the Zero Mile water or Sunya Aqua, this is aimed at reducing the usage of plastic water bottles in guestrooms and restaurants.
Currently, ITC is offering Sunya Aqua bottles in restaurants and meeting rooms; and will soon extend it to the rooms and banquets.
Namrata Bhandari