DALLAS—In honor of international Earth Day on April 22, Accor North America (NA), which operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy hotels, will launch Accor Earth Guest Week from April 15-22. As part of the Earth Guest initiatives implemented at Accor hotels worldwide, Accor NA will plant 20,000 trees representing each Accor employee in North America, implement a 65-point environmental checklist at all properties and corporate, and donate $375,000 to educational and charitable groups.
The Accor NA Earth Guest Week efforts are designed to maximize Accor employee involvement in beautifying Mother Earth, educating and helping the community and implementing their own Earth Guest initiatives. The posting of 65-point, tri-lingual environmental checklist posters throughout Accor NA’s properties and corporate headquarters conveys to employees pro-environmental actions including training, consumption reduction, monitoring and analysis. This checklist enables Accor’s employees to reach the ultimate goal of reducing their collective environmental footprint.
Accor NA supports education and the development of a strong community as the best devices to protect and maintain the earth’s resources. To demonstrate their support, Accor NA has made charitable contributions of $375,000 to several reputable institutions. Accor NA is donating to America’s Second Harvest, the largest relief network in the United States whose mission is to eradicate hunger; to the Tom Joyner Foundation to benefit minority students attending college; Canine Companions, an animal assistance program for people with disabilities; and scholarship funds for underprivileged students seeking a career in hospitality to the University of Houston, Johnson & Wales University and Penn State.
Hotel Restaurants Participate
Other initiatives include offering of organic food on the hotel restaurant menus and donating 10 percent of sales to America’s Second Harvest; the creation of employee mini organic herb gardens, offering battery recycling locations at select hotels and the corporate headquarters, and hybrid automobile displays.
On an ongoing basis, Accor NA monitors all properties to ensure everyone is doing their part to protect the fragile environment. Here are a few key conservation and earth-friendly programs Accor NA operates year-round:
• 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 regard to consumption savings, taking into consideration variables such as weather and hotel activity levels (all Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis hotels since 2004).
• Water-saving showerheads and faucet aerators (all brands).
• Ozone machines were installed on laundry washers; these machines allow the hotel to wash linen and towels with cold water instead of hot and reduce the use of soap/detergent (all Sofitel hotels with laundry).
• Using environmentally sensitive Ecolab laundry and cleaning products (all Red Roof, Motel 6 and Studio 6 locations).
• Technologically advanced heating and cooling systems to reduce consumption of power (all brands).
• Fluorescent bulb recycling in all 670-plus corporate-owned Motel 6 and Studio 6 properties by the end of 2007.
• Corporate office recycling program.
• Printing 5 million brand directories on recycled paper using soy ink (all Red Roof, Motel 6 and Studio 6 directories).
Go to Accor NA.
