Accor has entered into a strategic partnership
with Ecotourism Australia to certify all its hotels, apartments
and resorts across Australia and the Pacific as Sustainable
Tourism certified businesses.
The French hospitality giant is Australia and New
Zealand’s largest hotel operator.
Ecotourism Australia’s Sustainable Tourism
Certification program was introduced in 2022 and the standard is
recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The
certification is an extension to the existing
ECO Certification program that has been in Australia for more than
two decades.
Ecotourism Australia assesses businesses across
the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management,
environmental impacts, cultural impacts and socio-economic
impacts for which each business is independently audited.
“We are delighted that Accor Pacific is leading
the industry across Australia and New Zealand with this commitment
to achieving international best practice sustainability using
Ecotourism Australia’s 30 years’ experience in sustainable
tourism,” said Ecotourism Australia CEO, Elissa Keenan. “Accor’s significant presence across regions,
including Ecotourism Australia certified ECO Destinations Port
Douglas Daintree, Bundaberg and the Coffs Coast, and seventeen
other regions currently undertaking certification, and throughout
regional areas and capital cities, demonstrates their commitment
to sustainability in Australia and the Pacific’s unique
environments. This is a key partnership for our organisations
and we look forward to working with Accor properties across their
hotel, apartment and resort brands on sustainable and responsible
tourism practices.”
From luxury to economy, Accor has 19 international
brands across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia,
including Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel,
Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Handwritten
Collection, Novotel, Mercure, Tribe, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles,
ibis budget and Ennismore’s So/.
“Sustainability is redefining our business model and we are proud
to lead the industry forward by investing in our sustainability
actions and activities in the region. Our next phase of growth is
built on our powerful sense of social, environmental and economic
responsibility,” said Sarah Derry, CEO of Accor Pacific. “In 2022 Accor Pacific removed some 43 single use
plastic items such as individual toiletries from guest facing
areas in over 80% of hotels. In 2023 and beyond we are committed
to taking these actions further into the removal of single use
plastics from back of house operations, micro plastics in
laundries and by finding an appropriate long term solution to
replace plastic water bottles. We know there is a lot more to do
and our teams will continue to focus on driving sustainability
actions. There are no limits to our ambition.”
