BeMed publishes six-step method to plastic-free hospitality

15/05/2023

The Prince Albert II Foundation-backed initiative BeMed says it has a plan to get hotels off the single-use plastic bandwagon and onto a responsible environmental path.

Plastic pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the planet, but it is especially affecting the oceans. 80% of all debris found in the seas is plastic and an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic waste finds its way into the oceans each year.

As the world’s focus shifts to the environment, organisations like BeMed are working towards solutions.

Following a successful pilot project at the InterContinental Marseille-Hotel Dieu in Marseille, where a model was created to lessen and eventually eliminate all single-use plastics from the establishment, BeMed has published the concept.

Environmental and financial savings

Over a three-month period, the InterContinental Marseille-Hotel Dieu reduced its use of single-use plastic by more than 165 kg, while also limiting the transfer of environmental impacts to a minimum. In addition to the environmental benefits, the hotel saved nearly €5,000 in that period, which paid for the investments required to purchase reusable alternatives.

The six-step approach puts forward easily implemented changes and offers advice and feedback on alternatives to single-use plastic that are already available. It also identifies what plastics to prioritise removing, reducing and replacing.

Hotels are a major consumer of single-use plastics and the EU has set a 2040 deadline for the sector to come up with alternatives to the harmful material. Though that is a long way off, modern clientele is becoming more ecologically-minded, meaning that establishments need to keep up with trends, and methods such as the one formulated by BeMed could come into common practice much sooner.

BeMed was created in 2015 through cooperation with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Tara Ocean Foundation, Surfrider Foundation Europe, the Mava Foundation and the IUCN.

Sign up to the webinar

A webinar on the method will be held on 16th May from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. To sign up, please click here.

Alongside the webinar, access to the interactive platform that presents the method and its methodology in PDF can be found here.

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Photo source: Kinn Living for Unsplash

Football: Government drought restrictions provoke AS Monaco pitch controversy

by: Luke Entwistle

15/05/2023

Due to government-imposed water restrictions, brought in on the eve of AS Monaco’s game against Lille, the Louis II pitch wasn’t watered on Sunday, much to the frustration of players and managers alike.

“I don’t know why the pitch wasn’t watered,” bemoaned Lille manager Paulo Fonseca post-match. The Portuguese manager can certainly be forgiven for his ignorance of the latest edict from the Monaco government, which as of last Saturday, prevents the watering of green spaces between 8am and 8pm.

“The playing conditions weren’t good.”

On a slow, unwatered pitch, there was little spectacle in the match between Monaco and Lille, which ended as a scoreless draw. Both teams are known for their free-flowing attacking fluidity, but that wasn’t on show in front of Prince Albert II, Niko Hulkenberg and Ricardo Carvalho, who were all in attendance. The dry pitch ironically dampened the match, as did a tactical shift by Monaco manager Philippe Clement to shore up his defence. With the five-point gap to Lille maintained, this was a result that will suit Les Monégasques much more than Les Dogues.

However, that didn’t prevent Clement from also complaining about the playing conditions.

“I was as surprised as the opposition coach to find out that the pitch hadn’t been watered. We couldn’t water it, unfortunately. There is a big water supply problem in the region at the moment,” said the Belgian coach.

Just one game to go at the Louis II

“The playing conditions weren’t good,” added Fonseca, who will perhaps see the scoreless draw as a missed opportunity to cut the gap. “All season, we’ve played on great pitches. It’s impossible to play quickly on a pitch like that. The LFP should look at its own rules again if they want a spectacle. In such conditions, it is easier for the defending team,” he added.

“The pitch conditions didn’t help us,” said former Manchester United player Angel Gomes in the post-match mixed zone. “It’s very hot and humid here, and the grass is long so we had to adapt to that,” he added.

Minister of State Pierre Dartout has warned that the government will elevate the drought level if the situation worsens. Further measures could provide further disruption, with just one Ligue 1 match to go at the Stade Louis II this season, which will be against Toulouse on 3rd June.

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Photo by Zakarie Faibis

Government action: Monaco news round-up

by: Stephanie Horsman

15/05/2023

Monaco’s week in review: the International Hydrographic Conference, new ambassadors from around the world, road safety and fresh ideas from the Principality’s Youth Council.

INTERNATIONAL HYDROGRAPHIC ORGANISATION

From 1st to 5th May, 450 representatives from the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) met in the Principality for its third General Assembly.

Prince Albert II and Minister of State Pierre Dartout were both present at the opening ceremony before the group got down to business, discussing new developments in nautical cartography, technology and international technical standards as well as women’s empowerment in the sector. A Memorandum of Understanding with the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was signed, and there were strides made with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

On 4th May, Prince Albert II paid a visit to the USNS Bruce C. Heezen from the United States Navy with Denise Campbell Bauer, Ambassador of the United States of America to France and Monaco, during which the ship’s captain and crew presented the cutting-edge on-board technologies used to feed the nautical cartography databases.

AMBASSADOR SEASON

The Principality has welcomed several new ambassadors to its shores over the past few weeks, who each presented Letters of Credence to Prince Albert II before being officially sworn in by Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Government Counsellor-Minister of External Relations and Cooperation, at lunches organised at the Hotel Hermitage.

The first of the newest diplomats came on 5th May, when representatives for Poland, Thailand, Greece and Kosovo were introduced. This was followed by a second ceremony held on 9th May, which greeted delegates from Estonia, Jamaica, Peru and Cuba.

Monaco hosts 47 foreign embassies or consulates within its borders and 138 non-resident embassy locations, mostly, but not all, in Paris.

YOUTH COUNCIL WRAPS UP 16TH SESSION

The Economic, Social and Environmental Council for Young People (CESE) closed its 16th session on 10th May with Minister of State Pierre Dartout.

Since 2007, the CESE has held a yearly forum that allows young people to make their voices heard in public debates on areas of interest within civil society.

High school students from the Lycée Albert 1er, the Lycée François d’Assise Nicolas Barré and the Lycée Technique et Hôtelier de Monaco have met throughout the year with professionals who helped them to develop and present, during this closing session, four draft wishes, which were the subject of the debates.

The wish list included the idea of creating an electric taxi-scooter service, finding better ways to integrate the deaf into society, the installation of geothermal panels in Monaco and updated cyclist safety measures.

MINISTER OF STATE WELCOMES MARITIMES POLICY EXPERTS

Monaco’s Minister of State Pierre Dartout welcomed representatives of the Fondation Méditerranéenne d’Etudes Stratégiques (FMES) on 11th and 12th May. This is a three-decades-old association led by former admirals and defence officials, who explain the Mediterranean’s maritime policies to top executives in the public and private sectors. The idea is that they incorporate these strategies into their own organisations, making for a universal base to work from.

On this visit, which took place at the Oceanographic Museum, the FMES delved deeper into the seabed policies in place in France and the Mediterranean.

Dartout spoke to the 18 attendees at the conference, who came from the industrial, media, sea administration, environmental, yachting, scientific and judiciary sectors, saying, “Monaco’s international audience and the values that drive it, under the impetus of Prince Albert II, oblige the Principality to remain in very close contact with maritime and environmental issues. Monaco is a maritime Principality.”

CURBING BAD BEHAVIOURS BY MOTORISTS

The large public events that come to the Principality mostly run smoothly, but sometimes a few bad apples ruin the barrel. To stop the unplanned gatherings of sports cars, which have in the past given rise to traffic offenses and inappropriate and dangerous behaviours, the government has decided that during the Grand Prix, from 25th to 28th May, and Top Marques, 7th to 11th June, offending vehicles will face an increased immobilisation period.

These measures will be taken to preserve peace and public safety and should be respected by all.

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Photo source: Monaco Communications Department

Day: 15 May 2023