Accor is out to make hotel stays more sustainable, and in some cases — notably in its higher-segment hotels — make stays more luxurious, too.
Environmental, social and corporate governance will inevitably change the hotel experience for the better, said Brune Poirson, Accor’s chief sustainability officer, during an interview at the new Raffles London at the Old War Office.
One way of doing this is to offer more a la carte food-and-beverage options to help reduce waste, she said.
“But that is an opportunity to improving the stay,” Poirson said, adding such initiatives will be employed in different ways across the portfolio from luxury to economy hotels, although the firm has one overall target.
“Accor is one group, but it has minimum targets that our hotels must abide by. It is very hard to execute, but it is one-size-fits-all. We trust our general managers to go one step further, and they have the empowerment to do so,” she said. “We need to make ESG more luxurious, more a la carte. What we do not want to be is patronizing. Guests have brain power and new habits and knowledge.”
She added this approach is more suited to luxury hotels than hotels in the economy segment.
Still, ESG targets are often in flux, and meeting them consistently can be a challenge.
“On average, food waste equals 280 grams per cover across the entire journey of a meal. We need to continually rethink things,” she said. “It will never be perfect everywhere. Climate change is moving so fast. Everywhere we have targets, and our goals must be reached.”
Poirson said a major part of this is communication, not just to guests but also to staff and executives.
“There are [in-house] governance regulations for CEO and top executive bonuses,” she said, adding 15% bonuses are awarded for reaching short-term objectives and 20% bonuses are awarded for reaching long-term ones.
The France-based Accor has a six-hour, mandatory training program for executives and all other staff on the science of ESG.
Poirson said the hotel industry must trust the science, and Accor works with experts from Harvard and the London School of Economics.
In some destinations, perhaps in emerging countries, there is a different attitude toward ESG based on colonial experiences and “tremendous economic obstacles,” Poirson said.
“ESG must be developed with passion and expertise. It is an opportunity to turn ESG into a differentiation, to use it as one of our unique selling points,” she said.
Part of raising awareness of ESG initiatives among guests is that hotel companies must be willing to answer questions about their strategy, Poirson said.
“There have been a few complaints, so explain the reasoning. For example, in our hotels in Europe, we explain that no, there are no berries on the menu in winter as they would have to come from South Africa or some such place,” she said.
She added Accor has some brands that have, due to their model, a bigger ESG footprint, notably its luxury all-inclusive brand.
“Rixos is a big challenge, and an opportunity,” she added.
External Change
Poirson said government regulations differ by region.
“The China Securities Regulatory Commission has launched a whole taxonomy to start in 2026, which is very similar to the European Union’s,” she said.
China’s three major stock markets — in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen — have teamed up to publish new ESG guidelines for publicly listed firms.
This will include mandatory disclosure on a broad range of ESG topics in 2026.
“We also must sell ESG to owners and investors, who need more data. We want to lead. It touches every sector of the economy, but we see this as a virtuous cycle,” she said.
Poirson said Accor's more than 5,500 hotels allow it to grow expertise, formulate and tweak best practices, regulate procurement and reach economies of scale, from before constructions starts through the life cycle of the hotel.
The goal is to make any hotel building future-proof, Poirson said.
Owners want a building that stays up,” she said.
Poirson said Accor is working with specific ESG programs.
“We’re exploring issues around oceans. In Saudi Arabia, protecting corals, a country in which there is an opportunity to do things differently,” she said.
She added in Australia, Accor is working with Aboriginal communities and the Australian government to hire and train employees to adhere to the new standards.