Lagardère Travel Retail UAE marks World Environment Day with new sustainability campaign at DXB
Lagardère Travel Retail UAE has partnered with UAE-based company mybird to further advance its sustainability efforts across its food & beverage operations at Dubai International (DXB), marking World Environment Day with a new initiative designed to deliver measurable environmental impact.
Lagardère Travel Retail UAE has already taken significant steps in recent years to move away from traditional single-use plastic straws, transitioning to more eco-friendly alternatives across its network. This new partnership with mybird represents the next phase of that journey, enabling a more impactful and measurable contribution to environmental protection through innovative materials and direct intervention.
As part of the initiative, all straws across Lagardère Travel Retail UAE’s F&B outlets in Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at DXB have been upgraded to mybird’s next-generation sustainable straws. Founded with the mission to prevent plastic pollution from the oceans, mybird designs plastic-free alternatives made from wood fibre, plant-based and recovered materials, including byproducts and reclaimed resources that would otherwise go to waste. The straws are made from wood-based materials, and engineered to naturally degrade into CO₂, water and biomass without creating microplastics; they are wrapped in FSC-certified paper to further minimise environmental impact.
The partnership also incorporates a direct environmental action component. Every mybird order contributes to diver-led ocean clean-ups in UAE coastal waters, where debris is recovered from the ocean floor, documented, and responsibly disposed of, ensuring a tangible, local impact.
By implementing mybird straws across its F&B network at DXB, Lagardère Travel Retail UAE is expected to generate measurable results annually, including the avoidance of more than 185 kilograms of plastic, the removal of 200+ kilograms of waste from UAE waters, and the replacement of over 500,000 straws with more sustainable materials.
The launch is supported by a dedicated awareness campaign running throughout June across all Lagardère Travel Retail UAE F&B outlets in DXB.
Ramy Sleiman, COO Dubai & Foodservice of Lagardère Travel Retail UAE, commented “We believe sustainability must be both meaningful and measurable. Through our partnership with mybird, we are able to introduce a quality and innovative product solution, with direct environmental action. By transparently tracking the difference we are making, we ensure our commitment translates into real, tangible impact.”
Maitha Almatrooshi, Co-founder of mybird, added: “Dubai International the world’s busiest international airport, means a partnership at this scale translates directly into millions of fewer plastic items in circulation and real waste recovered from UAE waters. Lagardère Travel Retail UAE shares our belief that sustainability has to be measurable, and we’re proud to deliver a programme designed from day one to be transparent and locally impactful.”