DoubleTree
by Hilton Johor Bahru Champions for a Positive Change in Communities with its First
Ever Soap-Recycling Program
Johor Bahru, 28 January
2019 – DoubleTree
by Hilton Johor Bahru recently collaborated with Diversey and Kechara Soup
Kitchen Society Johor Bahru for its inaugural soap-recycling program, Soap for
Hope. This soap-recycling program marks a first of its kind to take place within
a Hilton hotel in Malaysia.
“It
truly is an honor to be the first Hilton hotel in Malaysia to champion a
campaign that is part of Hilton’s commitment to repurposing used goods for
community needs that helps to give back to society,” said Daniel Alcaraz,
General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru.
 |
| Andrew Lam the Director of Operations of DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru ; Daniel Alcaraz the General Manager of DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru and Haizir Mohd Yunos the IT Executive of DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru |
This
innovative ‘Soap for Hope’ program pioneered by Diversey, is to recycle used
soaps which focuses on three core objectives – saving lives by providing access
to soap to communities who need soap but have no access; to provide livelihood
to the local community through recycling and reprocessing soap to help hotels
reduce waste by turning used soap into something useful again.
Alcaraz
further commented, “This is a great initiative to not only preserve the
environment but also support our local communities in need and together with
the help of Diversey and Kechara, we can make a huge difference around us.”
In
line with Hilton’s corporate responsibility, Travel
with Purpose,
this collaboration supports Hilton’s goal to double its investment in social
impact and cut environment footprint in half by the year 2030.
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| Attendees participating in the Soap making workshop |
“To
date, Hilton hotels all over the world are doing their part in soap recycling.
Over 437,000 kg of soaps has been recycled in Hilton Asia Pacific alone and
that amounts to 3.5 million new soap bars, how amazing is that!” said Alcaraz.
“While the concept of soap recycling is still very new in Malaysia, we have
already managed to recycle 24,000 kg of soap and that amounts to 191,000 new
soap bars.”
To
date globally, Hilton hotels across 127 countries have successfully
participated in their very own Soap for Hope campaigns to recycle all guests used
soap bars, and will continue to take place with all other properties around the
world in committing to sending zero soap to landfills by the year 2030.
“By
sending zero soaps to landfills we are not only giving back to the community
but also saving lives” said Alcaraz. “Many children lose their lives due to
poor sanitization and that breaks our hearts. As the leading hospitality
company in the world, we intend to do our part in making the world a better
place for the communities around us.”
 |
| Final product from the Soap making workshop |
In
addition to its soap-recycling program, Hilton leads many sustainability
initiatives through Hilton's Travel with Purpose corporate responsibility
strategy that helps to impact the world both socially and environmentally. From
reducing food waste to cutting water usage in operations by 50% and to giving
back to the community by volunteering, creating opportunities for all
regardless of race, gender or orientation, Hilton commits itself to a driving a
positive social and environmental change.
“From
here, we can only be moving upwards. We intend to take this to the next level
and with the help of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), we will be
doing just that,” said Alcaraz. “From hotel to hotel then city to city, slowly
we will gather each individual hotel in Johor to recycle their used soaps as a
form of giving back to the community.”
