PARIS—Accor, a world-leading hospitality group, announces the launch of its Sustainability Innovation Program, a global initiative designed to accelerate the identification, testing and scaling of resource management solutions across its network. Commencing in 2026 and set to run for a duration of five years, the program will focus this year on water, a critical operational resource under increasing pressure.
The Sustainability Innovation Program marks a shift from local initiatives to a structured, scalable approach to innovation. Following a four-phase methodology—Framing, Sourcing, Testing and Scaling—it will identify, test and deploy practical solutions that deliver measurable operational and environmental impact across Accor’s network. By 2030, the program aims to deliver more than 100 high-impact resource-saving solutions; where successful solutions will be scaled across the network and shared with the wider industry.
This program contributes to Accor’s Hosting Change roadmap, notably the ambition to “ensure future-proof places”, which focuses on transforming hotels into resilient, resource-efficient and circular environments, from design through to daily operations.
In Support of Accor’s Environmental Reduction Targets
Recognizing that sustainability challenges require more innovative and efficient responses, this initiative will be key to driving value across the ecosystem and supporting Accor’s environmental reduction targets: enabling hotels and owners to access pre-validated solutions with proven ROI, offering innovators and startups the opportunity to test and scale within a global hospitality network, and contributing to industry progress through the sharing of key learnings and best practices.
The initial focus on water reflects the fact that this resource is a double materiality issue for Accor, being one that the Group both impacts and heavily depends on. Taking action on water is therefore both a responsibility and a business imperative, supporting Accor’s goal to gradually transform its operations toward reduced impact and increased resilience in an increasingly water-constrained world.
Accor has already taken concrete steps to address this challenge: in 2025, the Group achieved a 5.2 percent reduction in water intensity compared to 2024, supported by initiatives such as equipping over 1,100 hotels with low-flow showerheads by the end of 2025. Building on this momentum, the launch of the Sustainability Innovation Program will support the identification and roll-out of sustainable water management solutions at scale.
Accor Partners with Water Unite
As an early example of this approach, Accor is partnering with Water Unite in the first year of the program. Water Unite, a global nonprofit specializing in high-impact water innovation, brings a network of innovators, investors and corporate partners, as well as expertise in identifying solutions that can perform reliably in real-world conditions. Together, Accor and Water Unite will pilot solutions across key operational areas including water efficiency, reuse and water management in luxury operations. By combining Accor’s global footprint with Water Unite’s innovation ecosystem, the partnership aims to accelerate the deployment of practical, scalable solutions, support Accor’s water stewardship ambitions and set new standards for water management in hospitality to contribute to broader efforts to address water scarcity and resilience ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference.
Coline Pont, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Accor commented: “Balancing growth and sustainability continues to be a major challenge for the hospitality sector and our ambition is not only to improve performance and reduce our impact within our own hotels, but to act as a positive catalyst for the wider industry by sharing solutions that are proven to work. With the Sustainability Innovation Program, we are taking a structured approach to advancing this ambition. Through our initial focus on water and partnership with Water Unite, we hope to demonstrate how this new approach can deliver real operational impact and network wide value while enhancing the security of the planet’s most valuable resource.”
Louis Goring-Morris, Partnerships Director, Water Unite added: “The challenge is not a lack of innovation but identifying which solutions can perform reliably in real-world conditions. This partnership brings a rigorous, structured approach to sourcing and validating solutions that are ready to scale. By combining Accor’s global footprint with our network of innovators and investors, we can accelerate the deployment of practical water solutions where they are needed most.”
