LightBlue and Travel Without Plastic joining Hands to break Hospitality Industry’s Wasteful Practices

LightBlue Environmental Consulting (LBEC) and Travel Without Plastic (TWP) are joining forces to tackle the two single biggest waste streams in hotels – food waste and single use plastic.

Led by long-term sustainability professionals, both organisations originally set out with wider objectives in mind but narrowed down their focus into specific problem areas, guaranteeing the most robust possible service for hotels looking to tackle two of this decade’s increasingly important topics.

Aware that solving one problem should not cause another, both organisations champion a reduction in overall waste and their respective recommendations to businesses ensure that the wider picture is considered before any operational changes are made.

Habit is the biggest challenge for both organisations, compounded by today’s hectic on-the-go lifestyles. Hotels where guests would normally sit down for breakfast now offer to-go cafes, fuelled by single use packaging that caters for city breakers and business clients who are rushing out to the office.

Over the past 6 years, LBEC has consistently measured that up to 50% of all food purchased in volume never makes it to the buffet or the restaurant table. “Pre-consumer food waste is composed of roughly 40% of non-edible items, and the remainder is related to inefficient storage systems, unskilled trimming, overstocking or over production. Kitchen waste is generally given less attention when discussing food waste, while buffet waste is commonly mistaken as the biggest source of food waste”, says Benjamin Lephilibert, Managing Director of LightBlue.

In a similar scenario, TWP see that an average of 15% of single use plastic is often purchased purely out of habit, with no regard for whether the product adds any value to the guest experience. Where hotels are invested in positive change, up to 68% of single use plastic waste can be reduced by following effective recommendations and implementing innovative communications that encourage guests to be part of the solution.

Needless to say, both approaches can create significant cost savings, when environmental concerns are not the main motivator the bottom line usually triggers action.

Having travelled towards waste reduction goals for a number of years, the paths of both organisations eventually crossed making logical sense for a collaborative approach. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world (1.3 billion tonnes) for human consumption is wasted and around 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is for single use. Jo Hendrickx, CEO of Travel Without Plastic comments ‘We take our own responsibility to reducing waste seriously, but we can make an even bigger impact by helping businesses to do the same’ Lephilibert agrees, ‘combining our approach makes it easier for hospitality businesses to tackle both issues at the same time without becoming overwhelmed by the challenge.’

Both businesses operate globally and can offer on-site and off-site support to hotels and other hospitality businesses interested in being part of the solution. The ideal next step would be to engage a number of hotels in Asia and Europe who are happy to lead by example and introduce a multi-tasking approach to both waste streams, potentially generating huge savings in terms of waste reduction and costs. If that sounds like something your business would be interested in contact LightBlue Environmental Consulting on contact(@)lightblueconsulting.com or Travel Without Plastic on info(@)travelwithoutplastic.com

About Travel Without Plastic
Travel Without Plastic was founded in 2017. The organisation works with hotels and accommodation businesses to help them reduce their consumption of single use plastics without compromising the guest experience. The Let’s Reduce Single Use Guide and Toolkit inspire hotels to take a 3-Phase Approach to starting or accelerating their plastic reduction journey which significantly reduces waste and associated costs, engages staff and guests and gives management teams the confidence to make informed decisions when it comes to sourcing alternatives to single use.

About Light Blue Environmental Consulting
LightBlue Environmental Consulting is a consulting, capacity building and auditing firm with the vision to reconcile business excellence with sustainable practices and outstanding ROI. Established in Bangkok in 2012, it has built a unique expertise in food waste prevention, adopting a human-centred and cross-disciplinary approach enhanced with the right twist of technology. LightBlue designs and implements solutions to cut operational expenses, increase employees’ efficiency and loyalty, as well as to improve the reputation of organizations operating more responsibly.

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