Sustainability is more than a buzzword. Once a box-ticking exercise, it has caught the imagination of many with CSR targets, no more so than the campaign to reduce and ultimately eradicate single-use plastics. This white paper explores whether the travel industry is doing enough to limit the use of single-use plastic.

Is our industry doing enough? 

Back in 2018, the UK government announced a world-leading new tax on produced or imported plastic packaging in the October 2018 Budget that applies to all plastic packaging that doesn’t include at least 30% recycled content. The tax sees up to 22p added to the cost of single-use drinks containers in England, which consumers would get back if they returned the bottle under a new deposit return scheme.

Our oceans play a vital role in sustaining a healthy planet. The YouTube video of the turtle had more than 16 million views. World Oceans Day - celebrated each year on June 8th – is a reminder if any of us needed it, that our oceans are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe, and cannot be clogged up. Yet, between 5-13 million tonnes of plastic does end up in our oceans each year.

Now for some more encouraging news! Two of our most respected travel suppliers – Delta Airlines and the trendy Marriott hotel brand Edition Hotels – are making industry-leading strides in this area, despite studies highlighting that 40% of companies are finding it a challenge to become more sustainable, mostly due to the cost involved. These two case studies show that it can be cost effective and that it is possible to foster sustainable initiatives and identify practical solutions to improve their environmental impact. They are beacons of light and other suppliers should follow their lead.