For the first time in 2023, the members of the Collège met in Paris, after having gathered at the InterContinental Marseille – Hotel Dieu for the presentation of the results of the pilot project “Towards a zero single-use plastic hotel”.
The College is now turning its attention to the retail sector for its next pilot project. On the first day of the workshop, a visit to a Carrefour shop enabled the members of the College to get a feel for the project and the potential activities to be set up. Following this visit, a time of co-construction was organised to consolidate the skeleton of the pilot project. This was an opportunity to benefit from members’ observations, particularly on how to get consumers on board, since this pilot project involves changes in consumer habits.
To round off an already informative day, Henri Bourgeois-Costa and Valérie Guillard spoke about the notion of plastic footprint and its limits. The plastic footprint makes it possible to take into account the negative externalities of plastic, during its production (which emits a lot of greenhouse gases) and at the end of its life, as well as the toxicity of plastic in the environment and human health. Lifecycle and environmental analyses help us to better understand these problems and reduce the environmental and health impacts. However, these analyses are not without their limitations, since they do not take into account the long-term end-of-life (fragmentation into microplastics or accumulation in the bio/atmo/hydro/lithosphere). Complementary methodologies exist, but there is as yet no precise definition or methodological standards.
The second day of the workshop was partly devoted to the follow-up to the pilot project “Towards a hotel with zero single-use plastic”. The members of the College met in Marseille last December to unveil the results of the pilot project, and also to announce the publication of a turnkey method and the adaptation of the project to La Badira, a hotel based in Hammamet (Tunisia). The method was unveiled last March, and this summer workshop was an opportunity to take stock of the dissemination of the method. It was also an opportunity to share the progress of the pilot project at La Badira, which was officially launched on 1 June 2023 with the adaptation of the methodology and tools developed to the Tunisian context. Find out more about the workshop here.
To conclude the workshop, work began on the added value of the College for the various members. The College has already been in existence for 3 years and numerous activities have been carried out. BeMed and its members are keen to ensure that these activities have a positive impact. New monitoring and results indicators have therefore emerged, as have new objectives for the coming years.
Thank you again to all the members for coming and taking part under the Paris sun!
