Accor‘s Plant for the Planet project-the group’s towel reuse and deforestation project has planted over three million trees worldwide. To celebrate this achievement, Accor hotels are engaging globally in tree planting exercises to raise awareness and to initiate the project’s new phase.
Since the launch of Accor’s sustainable program, Planet 21, 13 new tree plantations have been inaugurated around the world. Seven additional plantations will be launched by the end of this year.
In partnership with Greening Australia, Accor’s Australian hotels have contributed towards the reforestation of the banks along the Hawkesbury River outside Sydney-planting 11,300 trees spanning 24.7 acres. Planting a further 10,000 trees this spring, Accor hopes to install 100,000 plants via direct seeding across 247 acres by 2015.
In 2012, the Accor Sydney Olympic Park hotels averted 71.3 percent of waste from landfills, reduced water by 42.7 percent, and saving 621,243 lb of CO2 per annum. Later this year, the hotels are implementing a biodegradable waste decomposer program with an anticipated decomposition outcome of 99.8 percent and reduction of CO2 emissions. Upgraded water saving showerheads will also reduce water consumption from 3.17 gallons per minute to 2.37 gallons per minute.
“A year after its launch, we have seen a positive impact of Planet 21 on our sustainable development performance and growing involvement by our hoteliers,” says Sophie Flak, executive vice president, sustainable development and académie Accor. “At the beginning of 2012, only 24 percent of hotels met the high standards set by Planet 21 and just one year later 60 percent of them meet at least the bronze level requirements, while 31 percent are certified sustainable hotels that have been validated by a third party.”