Positive hospitality in action at AccorHotels

• Over 500 urban vegetable gardens planted worldwide
• Nearly 60 % less food waste at pilot hotels
• Sustained reduction of water and energy consumption

Over 500 urban vegetable gardens
AccorHotels, which is present in 1,700 cities worldwide, has committed to developing urban farming and to planting 1,000 vegetable gardens by 2020. Though just a few months have passed since this commitment was announced, over 500 vegetable gardens have already been planted worldwide, from Bangkok to Rome and Sao Paulo to Kinshasa.

Hotels like The Sebel Kirkton Park Hunter Valley is setting new standards for local production and sourcing. The hotel now sources up to 30% of its menu from the hotel's 70 acre grounds and vegetable garden, with a further 50% from local partners. The Sebel has an agreement with a local farmer who manages cattle and pigs on the hotel's grounds. The livestock is processed at a local abattoir ensuring that the full process remains local.

At The Sebel Kirkton Park, the emphasis is placed on creating menus that are ever changing to reflect the season produce. The hotel's Executive Chef regularly runs education tours of the vegetable garden for guests, providing an opportunity for guests to engage in a full sensory experience, picking their own dinner ingredients and building their understanding of nose to tail cooking and the steps from paddock to plate.

In Paris, AccorHotels has signed the city's “Objectif 100 hectares” Charter which sets out to create 100 hectares of green walls and roofs in the French capital, including 33 hectares dedicated to urban farming.  

Less food waste

38 hotels in 13 countries are already using connected solutions to fight food waste in their kitchens and restaurants. The initiative has cut food waste by nearly 60% in the pilot hotels' kitchens. That's a total of $772,000 in estimated annual savings.  

Novotel Brisbane has partnered with LeanPath, a leader in technology to fight food waste, to install a connected solution in its kitchen that weighs food before it is put in the bin. After using the device for a month, the 296-room hotel has reduced its food waste by 50% and saving up to $400 a week.  

In 2017, the Group plans to launch the wide-scale deployment of these devices and implement a system to monitor the results obtained in all its hotels worldwide. In Australia, this initiative has the potential to change the practices of up to 170 food outlets national that serve seven million meals each year.

Targeting food waste that can't be avoided, 12 Australian hotels made donations to OzHarvest in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. During 2016, 6,390kgs of food, equal to 19,170 meals were donated by the hotels. A number of hotels also supported OzHarvest activities by providing access to their commercial dishwashers to clean food collection containers that are distributed to donors.

Aiming for carbon neutral buildings
One of Planet 21's two priorities is to achieve carbon neutral buildings. In 2016, the Group cut its energy consumption by 2.4% and CO² emissions by 3%. These results are even more encouraging because they were achieved despite particularly unfavorable world weather conditions in 2016 compared with 2015 since demand for heating and air-conditioning increased more than 4%.

In France, the construction of the JO&JOE Paris establishment will kick off in September 2017. It will be the first Low Carbon labelled hotel and shape the way for hotels going forward. In the same vain, the new build Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour part of the new International Convention Centre precinct will target an industry leading Green Star Sustainability Rating. The ratings will establish Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour's credentials as both one of the most luxurious and sustainable hotels in Australia.

Australian hotels nationally have been expanding their use of solar photovoltaic system. During 2016, the network installed more than 2MW of solar, helping to reducing the carbon footprint of hotels nationally.

“Green Stars”: guests to elect the “greenest” hotel
This year, the AccorHotels establishments' annual Earth Day event, “Planet 21 Day”, will see exceptional mobilisation around the theme of food & beverage. The hotels are invited to highlight their greatest achievements in three categories: the fight against food waste, the creation of an urban vegetable garden and the offer of healthy, local food and drink. The winners will be selected by a vote on the social networks. For the first time, guests and internet users will be able to elect the “greenest” hotel.  

Key figures for 2016 (attached)
A year ago, AccorHotels unveiled its new, ambitious CSR commitments for 2020. The Group's sustainable development program, Planet 21, focuses on four fields of action, namely employees, guests, partners and local communities, as well as two priority issues, food and sustainable buildings.

More about our commitments here.

ABOUT ACCORHOTELS
AccorHotels is a world-leading travel & lifestyle group and digital innovator offering unique experiences in more than 4,100 hotels, resorts and residences, as well as in over 3,000 of the finest private homes around the globe. Benefiting from dual expertise as an investor and operator through its HotelServices and HotelInvest divisions, AccorHotels operates in 95 countries. Its portfolio comprises internationally acclaimed luxury brands including Raffles, Sofitel Legend, SO Sofitel, Sofitel, Fairmont, onefinestay, MGallery by Sofitel, Pullman, and Swissôtel; as well as the popular midscale and boutique brands of 25hours, Novotel, Mercure, Mama Shelter and Adagio; the much-prized economy brands including JO&JOE, ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and the regional brands Grand Mercure, The Sebel and hotelF1. AccorHotels provides innovative end-to-end services across the entire traveler experience, notably through the recent acquisition of John Paul, world leader in concierge services.

With an unmatched collection of brands and rich history spanning close to five decades, AccorHotels, along with its global team of more than 250,000 dedicated women and men, has a purposeful and heartfelt mission: to make every guest Feel Welcome. Guests enjoy access to one of the world's most rewarding hotel loyalty programs - Le Club AccorHotels. 

AccorHotels is active in its local communities and committed to sustainable development and solidarity through PLANET 21, a comprehensive program that brings together employees, guests and partners to drive sustainable growth.

Accor SA is publicly listed with shares trading on the Euronext Paris exchange (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and the OTC marketplace (Code: ACRFY) in the United States.