Gearing up for World Environment Day on June 5, the theme of which is “beat plastic pollution”, MCRB and Thant Myanmar have announced the introduction a new set of guidelines they have put together for reducing plastic and waste at meetings, and created a World Environment Day Engagement Kit with tools on how to start discussions with employees to address the issue of plastic pollution in the workplace.

In a statement, MRCB stated it has been asking hotels where events are held to work with them to beat plastic pollution, in particular asking for a reduction of the use of plastic water bottles and for the use of clean, safe water in dispensers and jugs instead, as well as for sweets without wrappers such as dried fruit.

MRCB stated that the organisation sometimes faced amusing setbacks, including one hotel staff member unwrapping boiled sweets and putting them on bowls on each table, but said it was pleased to see other organisations making similar environmentally-friendly requests and building the market for sustainable meetings. The guidelines can be found at MCRB’s website www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org.

Hanna Helsingen, a member of Thant Myanmar, wrote an article in The Myanmar Times that the country should start to fight against plastic pollution and to ensure a clean Myanmar for present and future generations.

“We need the support of the private sector to drive change and bring more sustainable solutions. We need the government to put in place policies that can help us use less plastic and switch to more sustainable material as well as increase the budget for waste management,” she lamented.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/guidelines-businesses-fight-against-plastic-pollution-issued.html