At The Oyster Box hotel, we recognise the significance of our role in protecting the beautiful environment in which we sit and in reducing our global environmental impact. We consistently seek new (and build upon existing) initiatives to increase our support of people and planet, making sustainability a central pillar of our operations. Through this commitment, we are delighted to share the most recent steps that we have taken to help build the future of sustainable tourism.

OBH Reel Commitments

February saw our first beach clean-up scheme of the year – an initiative we have renamed to ‘OBH Reel Commitments’ and have since been performing monthly. By working as a team scattered across the coastline, we have been successfully gathering rubbish to protect our waters, and by consequence, the world’s oceans. April saw a particularly fruitful month for the initiative as 20 members of our team turned up to clear the shores. We gathered 124 bags worth of rubbish in this month alone.

Beach clean up team at The Oyster Box

Beach clean ups at The Oyster Box

OBH pop up store

February also saw the first OBH Pop Up Store where we raised an impressive R3420.00, followed by a further R2850.50 in April. We are consistently blown away by the commitment and enthusiasm of our team in contributing to, supporting, and furthering the sustainable initiatives within the hotel. By hosting these staff sales, we were able to generate money to donate to various outreach programmes and charitable causes across the local area, both environmental and social.

Pop up staff sale at The Oyster Box

Donations from The Oyster Box

We acknowledge at The Oyster Box that sustainability is a goal that must have both people and planet in mind. It is for this reason that we have been so passionate about our outreach programmes over the year thus far. So far, we have made donations to an array of organisations focused on supporting underprivileged children in the local area, including Alladin Learning Solutions, Gods Warehouse, and Angels Care where we have donated anything from toys, blankets, and stationary, to bed linen and pillows. We have also made donations to Bobbi Bear Bed Delivery based on the South Coast of KZN, who were pleased to receive our donation of mattresses, carpets, and a housekeeping trolley. By donating these items, we can continue to aid their constant efforts to help minors who have suffered from GBV (Gender Based Violence) and child abuse.

Bed donations from The Oyster Box

Finally, the kitchen team, alongside our staff who made the delivery, donated a variety of food and drink to the first responders of the recent flooding based at Virginia Airport – the control base for flood victims and rescue efforts. We are immensely proud of the proactive nature of our team in delivering such aid, heightened as they also gathered an array of goods including appliances and linens to donate to the victims. Our collected donations managed to fill an entire Hyundai Sprinter, which were dropped off at the allocated collection point in Ballito.

Food donations and The Oyster Box team

This is just a snapshot of the lengths that we continue to go to at The Oyster Box to protect both people and planet, and with such a proactive and passionate team, we look forward to continuing and building on these initiatives in the future.