Accor announced it has funded the planting of over 3.5 million trees around the world in the past 5 years

Paris, France, 2014-04-25 — /Travel PR News/ — In five years, Accor hotels have financed the planting of more than 3.5 million trees around the world. The Group’s commitment to biodiversity is especially demonstrated by the Plant for the Planet program, which encourages guests to reuse their towels when they stay more than one night in the hotel by promising that Accor will use the savings to finance tree farms. Unique to Accor, the initiative goes beyond the usual towel reuse programs deployed by other hospitality groups by requiring participating hotels to donate money to agroforestry projects.

Arnaud Herrmann, Accor VP Sustainable development: « With the support of our partner Pur Projet, expert in development of community forestation projects, the number of plantation projects has increased from 7 to 21 in the world in 2013. Our ambition is to involve a maximum of our hotels to sustain the program over the long term. Plant for the Planet enables us to address a number of challenges at once: to develop an active participation of our employees and guests, to support local host communities and to preserve ecosystems and biodiversity”.

Tristan Lecomte, co-founder of Pur Projet and ambassador for the Plant for the Planet program explains: “Trees are not only good for the environment. They’re also an excellent investment for farmers and for the planet as a whole. For a company like Accor, planting trees can significantly reduce its impact on water and on biodiversity, thereby improving the quality of life in its host countries”.

Hence in Morocco for instance, where Accor finances the planting of olive trees that enable women producers to work and become more independent. In this region, growing olives and making olive oil are the main viable alternative to growing cannabis. Accor has further extended the partnership by purchasing olive oil both for use in its restaurants and for direct sale to customers.

To celebrate the Earth Day on April 22, all Accor employees are committed worldwide to show their involvement in sustainable development and enhance the Plant for the Planet program.

PLANET 21 : mid-term results

Two years after the launch of PLANET 21, the sustainable development program of Accor, 2/3 of the 2015 targets are met or on track. The hotels have advanced on all commitments made by the Group and in particular as regards:

– Eco products: Accor has been working with Diversey, a leading provider of commercial cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions, for 3 years. As results: the amount of plastic waste per liter of solution was reduced by 97%. Moreover 95% of hotels used eco-labeled products for cleaning rooms and kitchens.

– Responsible food services offering :

o 80% of hotels are promoting balanced dishes;
o Close to 90 % of hotels have banned endangered seafood species from their menus ;
o 66% of Group hotels served fair trade products in 2013;

– Certification: close to 36% of hotels have obtained the ISO 14001. To help hotels obtain certification, the Group has deployed a dedicated platform called ISO 14001 in ACTion that provides a list of initiatives and tools to apply as well as a special e-learning module.

To encourage hotels to improve their sustainable performance, the Group has deployed the Charter 21, which is based on minimum standards. Between 2011 and 2013, the proportion of hotels that meet at least the minimum bronze level requirements of the charter has increased significantly from 35 to 83%.

Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator, offers its guests and partners the dual expertise of a hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices) and a hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest) with the objective of ensuring lasting growth and harmonious development for the benefit of the greater number.

With around 3,600 hotels and 460,000 rooms, Accor welcomes business and leisure travelers in 92 countries across all hotel segments: luxury-upscale with Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, and Grand Mercure, midscale with Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio and economy with ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and hotelF1.

The Group boasts a powerful digital ecosystem, notably its booking portal accorhotels.com, its brand websites and its loyalty program Le Club Accorhotels.

As the world’s top hospitality school, Accor is committed to developing the talents of its 170,000 employees in Accor brand hotels. They are the daily ambassadors of the culture of service and innovation that has driven the Group for over 45 years.

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