Sunway Hotels & Resorts, the hospitality division of Malaysian conglomerate Sunway Group, has partnered with Malaysian CARE, a local non-profit organization committed to serving the poor and needy, to provide 1,500 bars of Soapful repurposed soap to juveniles at Pusat Koreksional Puncak Alam (PKPA) for three months starting from 1 April until 30 June 2020.
The repurposed soaps are made from approximately 1,000 kgs of leftover soaps from Sunway Hotels & Resorts located in Sunway City – Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Clio Hotel — and another four hotels nationwide, namely Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Sunway Velocity Hotel Kuala Lumpur and in Penang, Sunway Hotel Georgetown and Sunway Hotel Seberang Jaya. The used soap bars are collected by Ecolab from the respective hotels and sent to Kinder Soaps’ processing lab to be repurposed into new bars of soap, following stringent standard operating procedures that adhere to safety and environmental standards.
“The group’s Soapful project was envisioned to benefit the environment by removing soap waste from the landfills and simultaneously help the intended beneficiaries such as orphanages or homes for underprivileged youths. The repurposed soap bars are meant for their personal use and also to be sold as part of their respective social enterprise programs at charity sales, community markets, and other social platforms. We feel encouraged that during these uncertain times we are able to provide the much-needed soap bars for these youngsters at PKPA to be used for their personal hygiene,” said Kelly Leong, Regional Senior General Manager, Sunway Hotels & Resorts.
The Sunway Hotels & Resorts’ #SunwaySoapful project was launched in December 2018, a collaboration with various project partners – Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Kinder Soaps Sdn Bhd and the Selangor Youth Community (SAY). The main aim of the project is to deliver benefits to the environment, society, and the economy in alignment with the hospitality group’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which aim to drive sustainable progress that leaves no one behind.
Malaysian CARE has been involved in working with juveniles, amongst others, since 2008, when Sekolah Integriti Kajang was established at Kajang Prison. In 2018, the juveniles moved to PKPA. “The aim was to have a school-like environment in prison so that the juvenile inmates can continue studying as they serve time. We are thankful and happy that Sunway Hotels & Resorts has come forward to contribute the Soapful repurposed soaps as it’s really crucial at this moment with the barring of visits by family or relatives. They would be the ones usually bringing them soaps on visitation days however with the ban it’s not possible. We will distribute Sunway’s Soapful soap bars and of course prioritize the ones with no family or loved ones” said Lim Yew Chin, Coordinator, Malaysian CARE.
This initiative by Sunway Hotels & Resorts is part of the #sunwayforgood movement, which is Sunway’s commitment towards a sustainable environment, economy, and society. Committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Sunway Hotels & Resorts continues to align its business, operating strategies and corporate culture with sustainable practices and solutions in line with the SDG agenda. All Sunway Hotels & Resorts are fully committed and have adopted SDG2 that focuses on Zero Hunger and SDG12 on Responsible Consumption and Production; fostering a better future for the communities in which Sunway builds, serves and lives.
Sunway Hotels & Resorts’ on-going #ZeroFoodWastage program is an initiative where surplus food is collected daily from its food and beverage establishments to feed the urban poor. The Group also partners with FatHopes Energy for the recycling and conversion of the hotels’ used cooking oil into biodiesel and other sustainable initiatives which includes collaborating with Kloth Cares, dedicated to keeping fabrics out of landfills through rethinking, reusing, reducing, repurposing and recycling unwanted fabrics, turning food waste into compost, the no-straw campaign and reducing single-use plastic. For more details about Sunway Group’s mission to drive the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development agenda, visit http://www.sunwayforgood.com. For opportunities to collaborate with Sunway Hotels & Resorts, please email directly to shr.corporate@sunwayhotels.com
