Accor Hotels, which operates Novotel, Sofitel, Pullman and Mercure hotels, has recently achieved Green Globe certification and status across its Novotel brand, ending 2009 with 33 Novotel hotels and resorts through Asia gaining certification and 39 hotels with benchmark status.

“Guests are increasingly seeking hotels that are able to demonstrate a commitment to the environment and Green Globe Certification provides visibility and third-party assurance of this,” says Evan Lewis, Accor’s vicepresident of communications, Asia Pacific.

DETERMINED EFFORT
Its efforts have received high praise from EC3 Global, achieving recognition in every category. “When it comes to well-defined sustainability policies and a whole-of-company commitment to sustainable practices in hospitality, Accor is arguably the leader,” says EC3 Global CEO Stewart Moore. “The company has one of the longest-running sustainability programmes and makes a determined effort to steer away from anything that may carry even the faintest whiff of green washing.

"Accor began focusing on environmental issues over a decade ago and in 2008 it set up the Accor Foundation, which aims to link cultures and elevate the human spirit – “an employee solidarity initiative that demonstrates CSR in its purest sense,” says Moore.

Many of the foundation’s projects support those being run by non-government organisations. These include the Malika sewing project, which aims to train 60 HIV-positive Indian women in silk sewing and jewellery making each year.

Green Globe certification is awarded to individual properties, not entire brands or groups, so Accor’s current certification drive means each hotel must be individually committed to the programme and be able to demonstrate environmental outperformance.

Moore adds: “Ensuring their claims are credible ones, Accor has a group-wide commitment to the monitoring, measuring and independent auditing of resource use and waste output. By knowing the environmental footprints of its properties, Accor is able to proactively implement abatement measures that will have a positive impact on the company’s triple bottom line.”