CJ BIO will provide solutions to replace single-use plastic amenities with items manufactured of biodegradable PHA for Accor-affiliated hotels in Korea
Vincent Lelay, Vice President Operations for AccorHotles Korea (left), and Eun Seok Choi, CEO of CJ CheilJedang. (Credit: PR Newswire/ CJ BIO)
South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang’s division CJ BIO has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the hotel chain Accor to develop hotel amenities made with polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA).
Under the agreement, the two firms will collaborate to replace the single-use plastic amenities that are offered to all Accor hotel guests.
This will assist the hotel chain in meeting its goal of eliminating all single-use plastic amenities from its hotels by the end of 2022.
Through the initial collaboration, Accor and CJ BIO will switch out plastic items like cups, plastic bags, combs, stationery, and various amenity containers at Accor’s hotel brands in Korea for PHA-based items.
If the partnership is successful, the two groups will extend it to hotels in the Asia-Pacific area with the intention of using PHA on a worldwide scale.
Accor, a company that was founded in France in 1967, has more than 5,000 hotels throughout 110 nations.
Their portfolio of names includes the premium hotel chains Fairmont, Pullman, Novotel, the Delano, Swissotel, and others.
Accor has also pledged to stop using all other industrial biodegradable materials that only disintegrate under specific circumstances by the end of 2022.
The chain has introduced detailed rules to promote the use of substances that degrade naturally in soil, water, or air, or that are recycled or made from paper or wood.
Accor Hotels Korea Operations vice president Vincent Lelay said: “We are committed to a sustainable future, and we actively investigate and implement solutions that help to address the environmental challenges that we all face. We believe PHA is the right solution to help us achieve our goal.”