Le Bristol Paris is Leading the Way In Social Responsibility
Le Bristol Paris x Giving Bag Interview:
Le Bristol Paris is one of the most iconic and luxurious hotels in the world, offering its guests an unforgettable experience in the heart of Paris. But beyond its reputation for exceptional hospitality, Le Bristol Paris is also dedicated to sustainability and environmental responsibility. With a range of initiatives in place to reduce its environmental footprint and promote social responsibility, Le Bristol Paris is setting a new standard for sustainable luxury.
We've had the honor of working directly with Le Bristol Paris since 2017, playing a role in their sustainability initiatives through their usage of Giving Bag and partnering with charities that impact their local community. The items that are left in a Giving Bag by guests, and Le Bristol then donates them to the AIDES Association, which organizes two sales per year in the aim of selling the collected clothes and donating the profits to the fight against AIDS.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Matthieu Bourdon, Regional Head of Engineering & CSR at Le Bristol Paris to explore their sustainability initiatives, plans for the future, and how they incorporate Giving Bag into their hotel.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
Tell us about some of the different sustainability initiatives Le Bristol Paris takes?
Matthieu Bourdon:
The hotel's commitments, that we have assimilated, are based on those of Oetker Collection Group, which are defined on 4 main themes:
- Human rights
- Responsible consumption
- Environmental awareness
- Sustainable communities
For more than 5 years, Le Bristol Paris endeavors to respond to these 4 main themes by proposing initiatives in line with the values that the hotel wishes to transmit.
The main initiatives are:
- Responsible consumption: Le Bristol Paris works with local producers in the
shortest possible circuit and if possible produce its own products from A to Z to
control and ensure the quality of the products (we have our own mill, we have beehives
on the hotel roof to produce our honey, a Chocolate factory...).
- Reduction plan for energy consumption: The hotel is in full LED and our buildings
are in accordance with environmental recommendations.
- Associations: One of the hotel's strategies is to develop partnerships with associations
to avoid the creation of unnecessary waste (La Ressourcerie Créative, La Cravate
Solidaire, Clean The World, etc.).
- Raising awareness among employees, partners & customers: The hotel tries to
make them actors in its sustainable transformation (customers have the choice to
change or not their sheets to reduce water consumption/washing products, awareness
of selective sorting for employees...)
Joel @ Giving Bag:
Can you explain why these initiatives are important to the hotel guests, brand and
employees?
Matthieu Bourdon:
Such initiatives ensure that guests feel involved in the sustainable transformation of the hotel by trying to make them actors of it through the actions mentioned above.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
How long has sustainability been a core priority of the hotel?
Matthieu Bourdon:
The sustainable development has been included in our strategy since 2017, when the first carbon footprint has been done by the hotel. The issue of sustainable development has become so important in recent years, because of the health crisis and climate change, which allowed to raise awareness of this issue among people in general. Le Bristol Paris and Oetker Collection are more than aware of this. The Oetker Collection Group has a Head of Sustainability and most hotels from. the collection have a CSR-specific person.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
Are there any challenges that you face incorporating all of these initiatives?
Matthieu Bourdon:
The main challenge is to ensure that gestures such as selective sorting become gestures of everyday life, like a daily ritual understood by all of us.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
How long have you been using Giving Bag?
Matthieu Bourdon:
Our partnership with Giving Bag started 6 years ago.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
How does Giving Bag help Le Bristol achieve your CSR goals?
Matthieu Bourdon:
Giving Bag is a very effective way to integrate both employees and clients as actors of our
sustainable transformation.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
How has Giving Bag had a positive impact on the hotel and the guests?
Matthieu Bourdon:
Clients work at their own level to a cause that comes directly to them. Guests feel useful and the hotel acts as an intermediary that allows guests to feel part of a community.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
Can you speak on some of the different items people have donated with Giving Bag?
Matthieu Bourdon:
We collect all kinds of objects following the departure of our customers, but mainly clothes.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
How did you choose your Giving Bag charity partner, AIDES association, what is their relationship with the local community?
Matthieu Bourdon:
Le Bristol Paris is particularly sensitive to the cause supported by AIDES. It is a very serious
association committed to the fight against HIV, which is a cause that concerns us all. By choosing AIDES, it was also a way to make the association known on a larger scale and to give it further visibility.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
Do you have advice for other hotels on how they can follow in your footsteps??
Matthieu Bourdon:
- Focus on awareness
- Ensure that your staff are involved
- Ensure that sustainable gestures are anchored in everyday gestures through the
actions implemented at work.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
Are there any specific goals Le Bristol Paris has for the future?
Matthieu Bourdon:
We would like to become a reference in terms of sustainability in the hospitality industry.
Joel @ Giving Bag:
How do you measure the success of your sustainability initiatives?
Matthieu Bourdon:
The goal here is to make sustainability something logical, rooted in the hotel's DNA.
Thanks you Matthieu Bourdon, for your time. We look forward to seeing Le Bristol Paris continue making a positive impact in the community. To learn more about Le Bristol Paris's social responsibility initiatives, check out their website.