Mandarin Oriental supports local communities with event initiative

Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is introducing a new events initiative that emphasizes corporate social responsibility experiences.

Through “Meeting with Purpose,” meeting planners can select CSR activities to incorporate into their event agendas. Each Mandarin Oriental property is working closely with their local communities as part of this project, further supporting the brand’s “Naturally Better” sustainability commitment.

“We are pleased that our hotels have responded with enthusiasm to this meaningful initiative to offer meeting participants a valuable way to give back to the local communities when they visit,” said Christoph Mares, chief operating officer at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, in a statement. “Including an option for attendees to give back and support the local environment and society, will add a positive purpose to any meeting agenda.”

Meeting with Purpose
Meeting with Purpose offers both paid and complimentary activities, with participant involvement also varying.

At Mandarin Oriental Paris, guests can purchase pastries during meeting breaks with the proceeds benefitting a local charity, Food to Go. Event hosts can also choose to donate 1 percent of their invoice to a local cancer charity.

'Acting with Responsibility' is one of Mandarin Oriental's guiding principles. Image credit: Mandarin Oriental

Other properties ask that guest donate their time as part of Meeting with Purpose.

Event attendees at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London can help the hotel’s chefs prepare, cook and pack food for charitable deliveries. Another option for guests is to assist with customer retail at London’s Oxfam stores.

In Dubai, guests can help plant and preserve the region’s trees while in Bangkok, attendees can participate in cleanups of the Chao Phraya River.

In other environmentally-friendly efforts, Mandarin Oriental claims it is on track to eliminate single-use plastic across its chain of properties.

The company had pledged to meet its plastic-elimination goals by March 2021, initially focusing on 60 of the most common single-use plastic products identified that make up 95 percent of those items in use at its hotels. These products have either been dropped or being phased out as the current plastic stock depletes, per the chain’s first progress report (see story).