As part of our sustainability actions happening each month of the year, in July, the IBB Hotel Collection and the Cugó Gran Collection took it to the streets in the different locations of the hotels across Poland, Germany and Malta to clean up areas in the local community.
The teams from the different hotels joined in the anti-plastic fight for Plastic Free July, a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans and beautiful communities.
Our teams in Gdańsk, Malta and Ingelheim spent a few hours of their time cleaning up waste found in the different areas, including beaches, forests, gardens and streets, gathering all forms of packaging, plastic and other litter.
Our main initiative, which took place on Stogi Beach and the surrounding forest in Gdańsk saw our team pick up about 20 garbage bags of litter, including a lot of cigarette butts and empty cans of beer.
“It is really sad to see such beautiful areas being ruined by negligence. As citizens, we are all expected to protect areas such as beaches, gardens and forests and care for the environment surrounding us. We are happy that as a Group we did our part to help clear up the mess and hope others will follow suit,” said Anuschka von der Heyden, Head of Sustainability at Von der Heyden Group.
In Ingelheim, the clean-up was also done with a twist, as the IBB dog team, led by Lorybär, who is 11 years old and a former street dog from Turkey, cleaned the dog beach at Heidenfahrt near Ingelheim on the 14th July. The other team members are Chiara, 9 years old, a Chihuahua from Hungary and Sybir, a 13-year-old Siberian Husky. The work was done together with their respective owners.
The clean-ups form part of the Group’s corporate social responsibility programme, through which we give something back to the community in which we operate in.
The 2030 Agenda
In September 2015, the United Nations established the sustainable development agenda for the period until 2030, containing 17 well-known Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a company, we are committed to this agenda and make our best efforts and commitment to adapt policies so that goals can be met by 2030. The agenda and the SDGs have become a guideline for our actions and every month we are committed to tackling different sustainability actions to better the world we live in.
Will you be part of Plastic Free July?
Whether you’re a beginner looking for a few single-use plastics to avoid, or someone well on their way to a plastic-free life, you can get inspired at home, work, school, and within the community. Check out some resources here and get inspired.