Monaco's Commerce Engagé label is marking a decade of pushing local shops and restaurants away from single use plastic, a project that traces back to a 2014 study on the plastic bags the principality's retailers were handing out at the till. Prince Albert II announced a ban on single use plastic bags at an international conference on Mediterranean plastic pollution held at the Yacht Club de Monaco in 2015, and the ban took effect the following June, backed by 22,000 reusable organic cotton bags distributed to households and the creation of the label itself, developed jointly by the Direction de l'Environnement and the French association Ecoscience Provence.
Membership has grown steadily since the first businesses signed on in 2017, including the Cornerstore. A dedicated Restaurant Engagé label followed in 2019 alongside a ban on plastic straws, and the combined network passed 100 members in 2022. Every participant commits to four things: offering alternatives to disposable bags, reducing waste generally, improving its own practices over time, and communicating the changes to customers.
A decade in, the label now counts 90 participating establishments, 51 shops and 39 restaurants, and the results have compounded. Ninety four percent of members have eliminated plastic bags entirely, 80 percent now sort their waste compared with 60 percent in 2020, and 96 percent of member restaurants offer alternatives to disposable tableware. Restaurant power consumption fell 7 percent across 2024 and 2025, local sourcing among members rose from 40 percent at the outset to 82 percent after three years, and 87 percent of members report being satisfied with the programme.
The changes show up at street level. Florist A Fleur de Pot cut its biowaste by 40 litres simply by switching the greenery used in bouquets, delicatessen Piam U Frescu reduced the cutlery it hands out sixfold after starting to charge for it, the Oceanographic Museum's shop cut paper bag use threefold with a 20 cent charge, and charcuterie Botega Renzini Norcinarte halved the disposable items it gives out under a similar paid model. The programme's next milestone arrives on September 1, when a ban on disposable plastic food containers takes effect across the principality.