Ten years ago, visiting a hotel implied the daily use of tiny plastic bottles of shampoo, lotion and fresh towels. Now, refillable body wash dispensers and notices urging guests to “go green and hang up your towel” exist in many hotel rooms, ditching the tiny plastic bottles and constant laundry cycles. Sustainable switches like these are part of the industry’s effort to become more climate-friendly.
Accor, a hotel group known for its luxury Fairmont hotels and economy hotels ibis, has implemented sustainability initiatives across its hotels. We asked the group’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Coline Pont, about sustainability in the hospitality sector and how Accor is meeting sustainability goals.
Do travellers care about sustainability when choosing a hotel?
Coline Pont: Sustainability and a desire to minimize the negative impact of travel practices have been important for travellers for several years now, and this is something which Accor has long internalised through sustainable hospitality approach going back more than 30 years. That being said it is clear that many industries, not least travel and hospitality, have witnessed a rapid growth in the relevance of sustainability amongst consumers. The last 5 years in particular have seen a marked acceleration in this trend, with sustainability transitioning from a peripheral consideration to a much more central component of decision making for many more travellers.
Crucially though, cost and quality remain the main drivers for travellers and these factors continue to dominate decision making. More specifically, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) data shows that 50% of travellers prioritise cost and 30% prioritise quality. This by no means implies that sustainability is unimportant. What we are seeing is that other considerations being equal or near equal, travellers are indeed selecting more sustainable options. It is clear, therefore, that the onus is on hospitality groups to provide and communicate responsible offerings where price, quality of experience, and sustainability are not immediately viewed as mutually exclusive.
Of significant importance is providing clear and credible information to nudge travellers toward choosing sustainable options. Accor’s own research, conducted in collaboration with Booking.com and The University of Surrey, found vague claims such as “eco-friendly” to create scepticism and reduce the likelihood of individuals following through on sustainability preferences. Instead, hotels should rely on externally validated eco-certifications by the likes of Green Key and Green Globe, which Accor has partnered with for +2 years & eco-certified 50% of its hotels. These eco-certifications, along with concrete and visible action on areas such as limiting water and energy usage, avoiding single-use plastics and offering low-carbon menus, allow hotels to offer travellers a sustainability proposition more likely to influence booking decisions.
Beyond the first initial booking, sustainability is also a powerful mechanism to build brand affinity and enhance guest loyalty. Responsible travel feels good. Hotels which empower guests to adopt positive behaviours are thereby able to create more meaningful experiences and connections with guests. For hotel groups, this is a valuable pathway to generate repeat bookings either at the same hotel or via new hotels under the same brand or even group umbrella.
Taking this all into account, Accor is confident that travellers will continue to care about sustainability when choosing a hotel. As this trend develops and intensifies, the ability to supply guests with experiences and stays that can balance the intersecting preferences of sustainability, cost, and quality will become a vital competitive differentiator. As such, hotels and hospitality groups will be directly incentivised to provide the most innovative and sustainable offerings to best capture rising demand. Beyond the economic incentives, though, hospitality groups have a profound responsibility to encourage and make possible more sustainable experiences, with a sustainable future of hospitality essential to the industry’s continued prosperity.
What are some of the leading sustainability trends in hospitality?
Coline Pont: Hospitality is undergoing a fundamental transformation where sustainability has become central to business strategy. A key trend is the adoption of circular economy principles: reusing, refurbishing, and reducing waste. This aligns with findings from the Sustainable Travel Trends 2025 report, which identifies circularity as a growing priority for reducing environmental impact and extending the life cycle of resources.
Decarbonization is also accelerating across the sector. Hotels in our portfolio are targeting direct emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) through energy efficiency and renewable energy, while also increasingly working to reduce their Scope 3 emissions, for example, emissions linked to the procurement of products and services. For Accor, this includes procurement’s and franchisees’ energy-related emissions, which are accounted for in Scope 3. Accor and other leading operators are taking a comprehensive approach to value-chain decarbonization, using science-based targets and robust measurement frameworks to address both direct and indirect emissions. This reflects broader industry alignment, as shown in the WTTC’s Hotel Sustainability Basics initiative (2024), which has seen thousands of hotels adopt global standards on emissions reduction, procurement, and performance verification.
Meanwhile, local contribution, which goes beyond minimizing harm to actively restoring ecosystems and supporting local communities, is gaining traction. Accor’s coral reef restoration project at Raffles Seychelles exemplifies this shift. The approach is reinforced by the Regenerative Travel White Paper (2025), which outlines how hospitality is evolving toward net-positive impact through ecosystem restoration, cultural preservation, and long-term community engagement.
Additional trends include green building design, responsible sourcing, and embedding sustainability into internal culture and talent development.
What sustainable initiatives make Accor stand out in the hospitality industry?
Coline Pont: Accor stands out for its comprehensive, science-based sustainability strategy. It has already eliminated 58 single-use plastic products in nearly 80% of its hotels worldwide. The scope of action of this project was extended in 2024 by increasing the number of single-use plastic products to be eliminated by hotels (66 guest experience products and seven products used in the back office) and by increasing the expected number of participating hotels (90% of hotels compliant for products used by guests and 70% of hotels compliant for products used by kitchen or cleaning teams). Waste sorting and recycling are implemented across 92% of properties, reflecting the Group’s commitment
to circularity.
On a larger scale, Accor reached a major milestone last November with the ecocertification of 50% of our worldwide network — 2,800 hotels, driven by the dedication of our hotels, owners, as well as global teams. It reflects reflects the Group’s commitment to putting sustainability principles into practice. Ecocertification offers a powerful way to validate and showcase our hotels’ environmental and social performance, with independent criteria and thirdparty onsite audits, providing the transparency and accountability guests, corporate clients, and partners expect.
Last but not least, Accor has launched a global training program since 2022, the School for Change to enable its Heartists (employees of the Group) to better understand and address current challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, pressure on resources and societal impacts. The goal is to create common skills (+95% of our Corporate Heartists have completed the training) to make informed decisions and to gain a better understanding of the strategic priorities of the Group and its brands.
What are some challenges hotels face when pursuing climate-forward initiatives?
Coline Pont: Pursuing climate-forward goals poses several challenges. Measuring and managing Scope 3 emissions remains complex due to dependencies on suppliers and external actors. Accor addresses this with comprehensive carbon accounting frameworks and external audits, but consistency across a vast, global supply chain is an ongoing effort.
Infrastructure challenges also arise: retrofitting older buildings to meet modern energy and water-efficiency standards can be costly and logistically challenging. A significant aspect of this challenge is the long-term nature of these investments; it takes considerable time to see the full benefits and return on investment from these sustainable upgrades. Ensuring suppliers maintain high environmental and human rights standards requires robust governance, achieved through Accor’s Responsible Procurement Charter and supplier audits.
Labor shortages add pressure to sustainability efforts. Accor mitigates this by investing in training and inclusive hiring practices, such as the Accor Academy, the world’s leading hospitality school for over 40 years, which has offered a comprehensive range of training, from job-specific courses to brand immersion and leadership development programs.
Furthermore, a key challenge lies in maintaining the high quality of service and ensuring the perceived value for the guest is not diminished while advancing on climate initiatives. For example, implementing practices like less frequent linen changes requires careful communication and service adjustments to ensure guest satisfaction.
Finally, expanding the hotel network while minimizing environmental impact demands foresight. Tools like AXA Altitude risk mapping help avoid ecologically sensitive areas, ensuring development aligns with biodiversity and local ecosystem preservation. This global expansion also requires evolving in a complex landscape where a worldwide footprint must reconcile with very local challenges and opportunities (For instance, the cost and availability of green energy can vary drastically in different regions of the world).
What does the future of sustainability in the hospitality sector look like?
Coline Pont: The future of sustainability within the hospitality sector lies in collaboration, working with
peers to collectively drive change across the industry, and working closely with owners, teams, and local communities. It also lies in positioning sustainability as a fundamental business enabler, especially relevant for our asset-light model, by providing practical tools and solutions for hotels to progress on these topics.
Partnerships will continue to play a critical role: whether through our recent three-year alliance with WWF to protect ocean ecosystems, or our membership in global coalitions like the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, collaboration will be key to accelerating impact. As regulatory pressures grow and consumer expectations rise, sustainability will no longer be a differentiator: it will be the baseline. The hospitality sector of tomorrow will be judged not only by how it hosts, but by how it heals, restores, and uplifts the world around it. Accor is committed to being a catalyst for that transformation.
Furthermore, sustainability at Accor inherently encompasses a broad range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics. This means actively addressing areas like local sourcing (especially food), ensuring greater transparency in supply chains, and exploring regenerative practices. We recognize that guests increasingly expect concrete proof and precise metrics, moving beyond vague commitments.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In The Cover Photo: Accor’s SLS Barcelona Hotel — Photo Credit: Accor
