Background

Cambodia's hospitality and tourism sector is growing rapidly, but so is its environmental footprint. The use of single-use plastics (SUPs) is widespread, particularly across the food and beverage (F&B) and tourism industries. Hotels, restaurants, and guesthouses generate a significant amount of plastic waste, contributing to landfill overflow and pollution with negative impacts on human health, the environment, and the economy.

In recent years, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has taken steps to reduce plastic pollution and adopted the 4R (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) principle by introducing several policies to promote the circular economy (CE). Nevertheless, the prevailing plastic economy still largely adheres to a linear model. In addition, awareness, capacity, and cooperation of stakeholders across the F&B value chain remain fragmented, and access to viable SUP-alternative solutions and financial and economic incentives for innovation is limited.

The project, funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), is a joint initiative by UNDP Cambodia in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment (MOE) to transform the industry and catalyze circular economy approaches to reduce SUP production, consumption, and disposal in the F&B and tourism sector through strengthened regulatory, financial, and operational frameworks.