Sustainable Development Goals And Our Journey At Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

The journey of a thousand miles begins with that first step

A wise man once said that. In the context of sustainable luxury, the journey is long but we must begin somewhere. And we must begin now!

As I wrote in an earlier post, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a shared vision that every business can participate in.

While not every business has made this shift in its business strategy, I expect that as more brands embrace this challenge and integrate it into their corporate DNA, we will begin to see more and more organizations across all sectors join this global effort in preserving our planet's future.

I feel privileged that I get to work for a brand that has already seen the value of committing to working toward SDGs. While we cannot accomplish everything all at once, we have started taking our first steps in the areas we feel we can make an impact.

My team and I are working on this in the background, and despite the pandemic, we've pushed forward, making adjustments along the way and measuring our progress. 

A while back, we decided to use Sustainable Development Goals as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. We've worked to generate buy-in from everyone in our organization. I thought it would be great to share our ongoing initiatives with my LinkedIn friends in the hopes that it will inspire and encourage you to either keep moving forward with your sustainability projects begin at once.

How we are doing it at MOBKK: 

The question we all had to ask across the board was: What goals could we start moving toward from where we stand? The first attempt is usually a bit messy with lots of trial and error but we anticipate that will a lot of dedication, a snowball effect will take over. At MOBKK, our journey begins with focusing on the following SDGs:

? SDG 3 – Good Health and well-being

? SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy

? SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities

? SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

? SDG 14 – Life Below Water

? SDG 15 – Life on Land

? SDG 17 – Partnerships 

There are some key steps we've outlined in order for us to execute our goals.

Step one: Our hotel has started categorizing its actions into different goals. So we designed a "blueprint" to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

Step two: We're updating the website based on SDG achievements. 

Step three: Internally promoting learning and development training materials relevant to the hotel for all our colleagues.

Outcome: Colleagues will be able to tell hotel initiatives to guests.  

Here's an example of how we are breaking down the SDGs into practical initiatives at MOBKK.

SDG GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

• Since November 2019, we've had a 15 % increase in locally sourced products.
• We've created Organic Mulberry Honey. 
• We launched a Vegan Afternoon Tea at the hotel.

Our objective now is to increase locally sourced products by another 5% by end of 2021.

SDG GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY

Our energy consumption was significantly decreased in 2020, with 35.66% electricity usage and 29.68% water consumption.

Our objective now is to decrease electricity and water consumption by another 5% by the end of 2021.

SDG GOAL 10: SOCIAL INCLUSION

• Day Trips - Giving Back to Society at Samutprakarn and Ratchaburi province to refurbish and enhance classrooms, cafeterias, libraries, and other schools' educational facilities. 
• We provide healthy meals and activities for children at Wat Suwan School and Haroon Mosque Muslim community on Children's Day. 

Our objective is to start day trips in 2022.

 SDG GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

• We changed T-shirt to a tote bag and donated to Baan Nokkamin Foundation.
• We implemented training for waste separation for all.
• In December 2020, 29.2% of the overall hotel's waste was reused and/or recycled. 
• From January 2020 to January 2021, the diversion rate increased by 19.2 %. 
• We are selling food leftover online through https://www.yindii.co/. 
• We are using a compost machine to turn our food waste into compost. 

SDG GOAL 14: LIFE BELOW WATER

Our team joined forces with ICONSIAM to clean up the Chao Phraya River and surrounding neighborhood for 'World River Day 2020. 

SDG GOAL 15: LIFE ON LAND

• Our hotel received the plastic-free certificate from Oceanic Global on 3 December 2020.
• Hotel colleagues joined forces with the nearby French Embassy and students from Mahidol University to participate in the 'Clean up the World' campaign, where we cleaned up the Chao Phraya River and the surrounding neighborhood. 

Our objective is to revive the "Clean up the World" campaign once COVID-19 measures are lifted.

SDG GOAL 17: PARTNERSHIPS

'Doing More for Sustainable Future' recycling bags are provided to guests to donate money or any items they wish to give away to support the local community. 

On food waste and responsible luxury:

Let's pause and talk about food waste. We all know it's a big problem in our industry, and it carries devastating consequences. Globally, we can see the overwhelming numbers (in tonnes) of food across the hospitality industry, so this shouldn't come as a shock to my fellow hoteliers. Consider these facts:

?? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates the global volume of food waste to be 1.6 billion tonnes of "primary product equivalents." The edible portion of this figure amounts to 1.3 billion tonnes.

?? Food wastage's carbon footprint is estimated at 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 of GHG released into the atmosphere per year. Source: FAO.ORG

Our team has been working on changing the culture and understanding of waste so we can take more responsibility in relation to production, consumption, and waste.

For instance, our Executive Chef Dominique Bugnand has demonstrated his commitment to sustainability by adopting new recipes, sourcing more locally, and using creativity to ensure what was once considered waste has the opportunity to be converted into something useful.

Back in 2019, Putthachat Inpitux, my assistant, took Waste Monitoring very seriously. Under her leadership and the Hotel Sustainability Committees, the team started to monitor our waste performance at the hotel level closely. 

Here's our ongoing journey in Bangkok: Total food waste:

? 2019 we had a total waste of 105,645 KG. Of that food waste, 45,895KG was donated to animal farms.

? 2020 saw a total food wastage of 121,516 KG, out of which we donated 9,028 KG to animal farms. The amount offered to the animal farm was less due to COVID-19. The collection stopped after March. 

In our quest to find the best way to tackle food waste at our MOBKK property, we have investigated different ways. Allow me to share what has worked for us so you can find your inspiration.

 Innovations to tackle food waste:

A lot of time and effort is placed in establishing tangible connections with farmers and artisans. Prior to selecting the suppliers, our Chef and Purchasing Department conduct an extensive search on how items are produced. For example, the type of fertilizer that is being used for crops. As a result, we have been able to implement the following: 

Since November 2019, we have been able to change 15% of our imported products to locally sourced products, including locally produced Thai cheeses and locally sourced berries.      

Creation of an Organic Mulberry Honey used in our hotel and available for clients to purchase. Mulberry Honey is organic honey & an exclusive bee farm for MOBKK only. The bee farm is located in Chai Nart province. Bees pick nectar from mulberry flowers & are fed by mulberry juice.

All our herbs, vegetables, fruits, and honey are sourced from sustainable producers in Thailand.

Now let's discuss some creative ways food waste can be managed.

Option #1: Leftover online sales

Did you know you could sell leftover food online? Depending on your location, various platforms are coming up that seek to collaborate with restaurants, hotels, fast-food chains, etc., to help improve the current food waste.

Do a Google search in your local town to find donation recovery partners and other similar platforms that might collaborate with your property.

For instance, Charles Aird pour, Director of Food and Beverage, and his team started a partnership with  https://www.yindii.co/. We're starting to experiment with this concept. The main idea is to offer products at the end of the day at a discounted value while simultaneously supporting a good cause. 

? Yindii in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsRBXswcvg

? ThaiPBS former documentary about Yindii: https://youtu.be/KUrepp7Fxhk?t=1843

? About Yindii: https://www.yindii.co/

? Why stores join Yindii: https://www.yindii.co/for-business/

What is the Customer journey like? 

• By 5 pm, our MOS Siam Paragon team confirms to Yindii how many boxes of food items would be available to sell.
• Yindii lists those items on their website.
• Once those are sold on their website, Yindii contacts the MOS SP team and informs whether the purchased items will be picked up by guests or will be picked up by Yindii and delivered to customers.

The items in the surprise box will be the items for the happy hour period, and guests cannot choose what will be inside. MOS at Siam Paragon sells happy hour boxes on Yindii App to have a zero-food waste.  

Option #2: The compost machine

 We have been working with a compost machine to turn our food waste into compost. At the moment, the big machine costs a lot. So, we have not yet decided on whether this can be our long-term solution. Currently, we have a small machine that we've been using daily for the past year. It's proving to be a great solution.

We are tracking how much the machine could transform waste into compost which is giving us valuable data. An added benefit of this is that our garden has never looked healthier now that we are supplying it with our "homemade" compost. So, if your property can invest in this, I would definitely encourage it.

Compost wet waste 270.27 kg in 2020.

#celebratingmyteam for their commitment toward #sustainableluxury.

Our Director of Rooms Lluis Pou with his team giving away empty Aluminium bottles to The Association of Persons with Physical Disability for recycling into wheelchairs.

Ittipol Witjitsomboon, our Director of Human resources, and his team organized a blood donation last month, resulting in 5,600 units, which could potentially save 42 people.

Phutthaphon Phukmot, our Director of IT, and his team offer six used computers presented to the local school. 

Conclusion

In the end, the achievements we've made were only possible because of the hard work, and the commitment all my colleagues have put in. The team continues to find new creative ways to move toward a sustainable business and future. So you see, there's no limit on your creativity and your ability to integrate new protocols and systems that align with The Sustainable Development Goals.

At our property, it's more than just creating policies. It's also about creating training materials and continually updating our P&P as progress is made. We also have new procedures in place regarding plastic. But above all, it is to realize that it's not about being perfect. It's about taking action.

What first steps are you taking toward sustainable development?

Franck Droin.