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Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh has become the first hotel in Cambodia to partner with ecoSPIRITS – a company offering a closed-loop distribution system using low-waste, low-carbon spirits distribution technology, thereby minimising packaging waste and transport cost, to reduce carbon footprint emissions in the spirits supply chain.
By partnering with ecoSPIRITS, Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh aims to reduce 40% of its transport and packaging carbon emissions, including single-use glass wastage.
Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh General Manager, Herman Kemp notes “Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh is excited to partner with ecoSPIRITS and to continue to raise the bar for socially-conscious hospitality. This partnership will enable our flagship bar, The Attic, to extend its popular sustainable cocktail menu in which all ingredients in the cocktail have zero wastage.”
Founded in Singapore by Paul Gabie in 2018, ecoSPIRITS was developed to reduce the production costs and carbon footprint of spirits that is tied up in the production, packaging and transportation of millions of bottles all over the world.
ecoSPIRITS transfer premium spirits from bulk containers into ecoTOTEs, a reusable vessel that carries 4.5 litres of spirit, which bartenders then use to sustainably refill their bottles. Once empty ecoTOTEs are returned, sanitised, fitted with tamper-proof seals and then re-distributed. ecoTOTEs can be stacked in place and are shock-resistant, reducing wastage through breakages. The company currently operates in a number of international markets including Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, the United Kingdom and now - Cambodia.
Since its soft launch in January 2020, ecoSPIRITS has been welcomed by the Australian hospitality industry. At a time of ever increasing awareness around single use waste, and the potential for long-term, devasting impact on Australian quality of life through global warming, venues are taking active steps to play their part in a more sustainable future – reducing carbon footprint, eliminating single use plastic straws, reusing fresh ingredients, and re-thinking packaging and other waste.
On their launch into the Australian hospitality sector, ecoSPIRITS Chief Executive Gabie noted “ecoSPIRITS delivers a dramatic reduction in beverage waste generated by bars, restaurants and hotels. This means less glass and carboard waste in Australian landfills. After four years of development, we are excited to bring the ecoSPIRITS technology to one of the most important hospitality markets in Asia Pacific.”
The ecoSPIRITS closed loop system, which includes the ecoPLANT™, ecoTOTE™ and SmartPour™ technologies, is operated in Australia by Proof & Company, which has been an early champion of sustainable spirits.
Since the Australian launch in 2020, Proof & Company Australia has forged a new partnership that sees leading wholesaler Australian Liquor Marketers offer sustainable spirits distribution to thousands of hospitality venues across Australia.
Venues joining the ecoSPIRITS network through Australian Liquor Marketers have access to all ecoSPIRITS benefits, including the “One Tote, One Tree” reforestation commitment under the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program.
Anthony Rose, Australian Liquor Marketers On-Premise Category Manager noted “specialising in on premise, we know that sustainability and service are both important to our customers. For this reason, we are proud to announce our new partnership with Proof & Company Australia and ecoSPIRITS.”
In 2020, an estimated 40 billion glass spirit bottles were produced, generating 22 million tons of carbon emissions. The vast majority of these bottles were expected to end up in landfills as single use glass waste – and the minority that end up in recycling consume 50% of the energy required to make a new bottle. With each single use glass bottle eliminated, ecoSPIRITS saves at least 550 grams of carbon emissions. This means each cocktail or spirits pour with ecoSPIRITS saves a remarkable 30 grams of carbon emissions.
The partnership between Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh and ecoSPIRITS is just one of several green food initiatives that Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh has rolled out since it opened its doors to guests in January 2021. Some of the hotel’s other green food practices include partnerships with Eggscellent, a cage-free chicken farm in Siem Reap, Ocean Gems, a sustainable seafood company, Beyond Meat, a plant-based, vegan meat company, as well as Moo Moo Farms, a domestic dairy farm.
In addition, the hotel has a longstanding partnership with a local NGO, Eco-Soap Bank, to collect used soap from the property’s 247 guestrooms for redistribution to populations in need. After the soap is sanitised and upcycled by a team of women in Cambodia, the clean new bars are sent to vulnerable communities around Southeast Asia and Africa.
“At Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh we are committed to reducing waste and actively supporting the environment by ensuring that all of our packaging is biodegradable,” added Kemp. “We also take pride in sourcing all of our top quality ingredients locally, sustainably, and making sure that we get to know our suppliers, in order to provide our guests with the best possible F&B experience.”
For more information on ecoSPIRITS go to ecospirits.global/
For more information on Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh visit hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/cambodia/hyatt-regency-phnom-penh
Images from top: ecoTOTE Grain Bar Four Seasons Hotel Sydney courtesy Bars and Clubs; Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh The ATTIC bar; ecoSPIRITS plant
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