The CEO of UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group says the company's recent move to eliminate personalized, single-use plastic containers for toiletries will be a game-changer in the industry.
The decision, announced last week, will impact about 5,600 hotels and 850,000 guest rooms, according to IHG, which operates 17 hotel brands, including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza.
"By 2021, we can retrofit all of our hotel rooms around the world to move to bulk amenities, and stop putting 200 million small pieces of plastic into the environment," IHG CEO Keith Barr told Cheddar. "We're really excited about it, but it's just a first step."
The decision comes as the hotel industry faces growing pressure to lessen their environmental impact. Eliminating extra plastics could be a good place to look.
More than 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s, according to the United Nations. The international organization also reports that global plastic production has increasingly trended toward single-use products.
Historically, just 9 percent of plastic has been recycled.
"We have to do more around supply chain, how we supply hotels, how we renovate hotels, to make sure our industry is more sustainable," said Barr. He said that IHG also works with bedding made from recycled materials and works with nonprofits to donate furniture the company no longer uses.
"Around the world, we're recognizing that tourism needs to be more sustainable," said Barr. "I'm excited that we're the first mover on this, but I would expect my peers and other companies to follow suit in good time."
Last year, IHG, Marriott International, and Hilton Hotels, among other brands, committed to eliminate their use of plastic straws.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
