Biodegradable products boost sustainability in hospitality

The Sofitel Melbourne On Collins is synonymous with luxury, glamour and timeless elegance. It is also a huge supporter of many BioGone products, utilised in areas across the hotel operation.

The Hotel is a certified ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System organisation. To comply with this international standard, it consistently needs to find new ways to reduce its carbon footprint. For the Sofitel, BioGone was a perfect fit, especially in assisting the hotel in becoming more sustainable in their various outlets.

Johanna Bouniol, Quality, Risk and Environment Manager at the Sofitel, shared the BioGone story. This was prior to COVID-19 changing how they temporarily operate. “We had been using BioGone’s landfill-biodegradable products since July 2019. We used their disposable gloves and landfill-biodegradable cling wrap, which is BPA free, in our banquets, restaurant, lounge and Club areas for both cleanliness and food safety,” said Bouniol.

“The hotel staff and the entire Accor group are determined to reduce our waste and be an eco-friendly hotel. So when we challenged our kitchen and purchasing staff to find new suppliers that fit this goal, we had many different options. BioGone became the supplier of choice when we looked at the biodegradable plastics it produces and the effect it has on landfill,” said Bouniol.

BioGone is a good fit with Sofitel Melbourne in the products they create and distribute. Hotels are not just a place for guests to sleep in; Sofitel Melbourne services more guests per day in its conference and events areas, restaurants, bar and Club lounge. The impact on landfill from these areas and in particular the use of single-use gloves and cling film is quite extensive. With plastic taking 450 or so years to break down, the team and hotel was motivated for a change.

A trial period was set up with BioGone products where the hotel placed key targets on the quality of the products. The BioGone gloves and cling film surpassed all expectations and targets and have been implemented across all outlets.

“Our BioGone representative has been a great partner and active contact since the beginning. He has worked alongside our team to ensure a high level of understanding of the products and operation’s needs. For example, originally, their glove offerings were only in black and green colours. As per our food safety guidelines, our kitchen teams have to wear blue gloves. John immediately found a solution to meet our request and created landfill-biodegradable blue gloves for us,” said Bouniol.

“Furthermore, last September, we organised an event where we invited key F&B people from all our AccorHotels properties in Victoria. This event was to present to them some of our eco-friendly initiatives. It was a great opportunity to present the BioGone products to all our Accor properties. When we asked BioGone to be part of this event, they didn’t hesitate a second and were a great supporter of the initiative,” said Bouniol.

Companies like BioGone give the opportunity for businesses to be more sustainable while keeping the same quality of products. They are working alongside industry to assist them with their environmental needs.

The hotel adds that BioGone offers a great range of products that are as good as non-biodegradable plastic items, but their products will completely biodegrade in landfills within a few years — something they are very conscious of at Sofitel.

Image credit: BioGone.