DALLAS—Accor North America has joined the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (NPEP). The program, which aims to reduce the use of potentially hazardous chemicals that can result from products and processes, is the latest of many environmental initiatives taken by the company to help minimize the environmental impact of its more than 1,000 hotels in the United States and Canada. In fact, Accor North America’s economy brand, Motel 6, is among the first in the hospitality industry to implement a fluorescent light bulb and battery recycling program at its properties nationwide.
“Accor North America is committed to promoting environmental awareness, not only by implementing green initiatives into all aspects of our business model and operating practices, but also by joining the EPA and its partners in their goal to reduce the hazardous chemicals that pose a threat to the well-being of our planet,” said Olivier Poirot, CEO for Accor North America, Motel 6 and Studio 6. “We are proud to join this partnership and are confident in the measures the EPA is taking to make our world a better place in which to live and do business.”
Through the partnership, Accor North America has taken on the challenge of reducing mercury in local landfills by ensuring that fluorescent light bulbs used in their hotels are properly recycled.
Other Earth-Friendly Steps
A number of other key conservation and Earth-friendly steps Accor North America takes on an ongoing basis include:
• Participation in energy and water conservation programs including creation of a monthly energy/water consumption report to inform each hotel of their month-to-date progress in regards to consumption savings, taking into consideration variables such as weather and hotel activity levels (all Sofitel and Novotel hotels since 2004);
• Water-saving showerheads and faucet aerators (all brands);
• Faucet aerators replaced with higher water-efficiency 0.5 gallon per minute aerators (Motel 6 and Studio 6 locations);
• Commitment to reduce 10 percent of electricity consumption by 2010 (Motel 6 and Studio 6 locations);
• Ozone machines were installed on laundry washers; these machines allow hotels to wash linens and towels with cold water instead of hot and reduce the use of soap/detergent (all Sofitel hotels with laundry);
• Using environmentally sensitive laundry products (all Motel 6 and Studio 6 locations);
• Technologically advanced heating and cooling systems to reduce consumption of power (all brands);
• Corporate office recycling program;
• Use of ecological paper, including printing 1.3 million directories on recycled paper using soy ink (all Motel 6 and Studio 6 directories);
• Use of compact fluorescent lighting, which consumes 75 percent less energy than conventional bulbs (all brands);
• Motel 6 and Studio 6 recognized by the EPA as an Energy Star Leader. Energy star Leaders are recognized as part of the EPA’s Energy Star Building Challenge, a program encouraging building owners and managers to reduce energy use by 10 percent or more; and
• Accor celebrates Earth Day each year by planting trees, organizing park, lake and beach cleanups, and reducing their carbon footprint.
More information on the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities can be found at www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize/npep/index.htm.
