We headed over to The 853 to see what sustainability initiatives the team at Mandarin Oriental Macau was working on
You know how we love a trip to Macau! From the cool cafes to the vegetarian restaurants, there are a bunch of cool things to do in Macau that don’t involve casinos, and we think it’s the perfect weekend escape. Making jumping on that ferry even more attractive, the team at Mandarin Oriental Macau has recently implemented some pretty impressive sustainability measures, not least of which is an in-house filtration plant.
Hats off to Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Unfortunately, for many businesses, the concept of sustainability can merely be a box to check on the annual report. While eliminating single-use plastics such as straws has garnered a lot of hype, the truth of the matter is that if we want to see some real change, we need more companies on board with making larger changes, and fast.
Thankfully, the team at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group gets this, with the entire portfolio of hotels pledging to eliminate single-use plastic by the end of March 2021. Each property is making these changes in its own way, and were super excited to head over and see what Mandarin Oriental Macau was quietly working on.
So what’s happening at Mandarin Oriental Macau?
The largest initiative to come out of Mandarin Oriental Macau so far is the implementation of an onsite water filtration system, no small feat for a hotel with 213 rooms and countless conferences, weddings, and events happening on the daily. Every single bottle of water on the property, including those at the restaurants and wellness centres is now bottled on premises with the Swedish-developed Nordaq filtration system, that allows for both still and sparkling water.
“Our hotel was using 150,000 plastic bottles every year and these bottles ended up in landfill, harming the environment,” explained Christian Dolenc, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Macau. What’s great is that the company sees this kind of move as a long-term investment, something we’d love to see more of from major players in the hospitality industry.
While the water system may be the biggest development for the property this year in terms of sustainability, they have also implemented some other great initiatives, including a monthly ‘Earth Hour’ lights-out initiative and a switch from plastic in-room toothbrushes to a biodegradable raw wheat variety.
We can’t wait to see what’s to come from this forward-thinking hotel group.
Mandarin Oriental Macau, N.945, Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen, NAPE, Macau, p. +853 8805 8928, 澳門孫逸仙大馬路澳門文華東方酒店2樓
