Hilton to remove plastic straws from all 650 hotels

Hilton has announced that it will remove plastic straws from all of its 650 managed properties around the world by the end of 2018.

The group will instead offer a paper or biodegradable alternative upon request. Plastic water bottles at meetings and events in hotels across the EMEA region will also be phased out, as part of its global ‘Meet with Purpose’ program to offer socially and environmentally responsible meetings.

The ban on straws is part of a new set of global targets designed to cut Hilton’s environmental footprint in half by 2030 and double its social impact investment around the world.

It follows a similar policy announcement from AccorHotels in which announced that it will discontinue the use of plastic straws in its restaurants, cafes and bars in the UK and Ireland by June 2018

With this commitment, Hilton said it aims to become the first major hotel company to institute science-based targets to reduce its carbon emissions and commit to sending zero hotel soap to landfill.
Simon Vincent, executive vice president and president, EMEA, Hilton said: “As a leading global hospitality company, we have a huge responsibility to act as stewards of our natural resources, and support the communities in which we operate.

“Through our corporate responsibility strategy, ‘Travel with Purpose’, we are constantly looking for new ways to reduce our environmental impact. Extending a ban on plastic straws across our managed portfolio is an important move in the right direction, and one which we are committed to building on in the coming years.”

The company will also double the amount it spends with local and minority-owned suppliers, and double its investment in programs to help women and youth around the world. The Travel with Purpose corporate responsibility strategy follows the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.