CCTV News From November 28 to December 1, the 8th China International Hotel Industry Conference, hosted by the China Hotel Association, Hainan International Economic Development Bureau, and Hainan Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, was held in Haikou, Hainan. The event was themed "Green Leading, Integrity and Innovation", covering five major sections, including annual review and outlook, high-quality results release, green annual meeting, green product docking, and free trade port cooperation, injecting new wisdom and strength into the high-quality development of China's hotel industry.

With the improvement of global environmental awareness and the increasing trend of sustainable development, the hotel industry is also undergoing a profound green transformation. As an internationally renowned hotel management group, Accor Group has always been at the forefront of the industry, especially in the Chinese market, showing a strong sense of environmental responsibility and innovation. At this conference, Accor Greater China Chief Operating Officer Le Ruisi shared Accor's various practices and forward-looking plans in green and sustainable development. Mr. Le Ruisi said that Accor Group is committed to promoting the sustainable transformation of the entire hotel industry through innovative environmental protection measures and partnerships. In the face of global environmental challenges, Accor Group will not only take action in its own operations, but will also be committed to inspiring and guiding the entire industry to work together to achieve a more sustainable tourism industry goal.

Photo: Accor Greater China Chief Operating Officer Le Ruisi accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV.com

Question: As a multinational company, how does Accor Group implement and promote energy conservation, emission reduction and environmental protection measures worldwide?

Le Ruisi: In responding to global climate change and promoting environmental protection, Accor Group, as an internationally renowned hotel company, has demonstrated a positive attitude and action. Since entering the Chinese market for nearly 40 years, Accor has been committed to sustainable development and put it at the core of its business. In order to achieve the long-term goal of net zero emissions in 2050, Accor has launched a series of initiatives. Among them, cooperating with the China Hotel Association to pass the "Green Hotel" certification and evaluate and manage the hotel's environmental protection measures is a key link. In addition, Accor is also actively promoting the replacement of disposable guest plastic products, and working closely with value chain participants such as hotel owners, partners, suppliers, employees and guests to contribute to environmental protection.

In the catering sector, Accor aims to reduce food waste by more than half by 2030. To achieve this goal, Accor uses advanced technology and artificial intelligence to measure food waste in Greater China, while also promoting energy conservation and emission reduction by innovating menu design and changing the eating habits of the cooking team and guests. Accor also uses technology to optimize the storage and replenishment of buffets to effectively reduce food waste.

In addition, Accor has launched the "Sustainable Development Change Academy" to enable the Accor team to have a deeper understanding of the impact of climate change on biodiversity and communities through education and training, and to promote solutions in hotels.

In terms of cooperation, Accor also recognizes that sustainable transformation cannot be achieved by the efforts of a single company. Therefore, Accor actively cooperates with industry leaders to jointly promote the development of environmentally friendly tourism. In 2023, Accor cooperated with Ctrip Group and McKinsey to release the white paper "Exploring the Way of Environmentally Friendly Travel in China", proposed a series of action plans, and reached cooperation with Jinjiang Group in the field of sustainable development to jointly promote environmental protection actions.

Question: During this conference, Accor and the Hotel Association signed a green hotel co-construction cooperation. How do you think the international leading environmental protection concept should be combined with China's national standard "Green Hotel" to adapt to market needs and regulations?

Le Ruisi: Accor has built an action framework that can not only respond to global environmental challenges but also meet the unique needs of the Chinese market by integrating international best practices and industry standards with Chinese characteristics. This move is to ensure that Accor's hotels in Greater China meet the highest environmental standards while complying with local laws and regulations and meeting guest expectations.

The core of Accor's strategy is to effectively integrate its supply chain and local partners to jointly support the Chinese government's environmental protection goals and Accor Group's commitment to sustainable development. To this end, Accor is actively exploring the promotion of more environmentally friendly products in its hotels and providing sustainable solutions and guest experiences.

At the operational level, Accor works closely with suppliers to jointly develop a series of environmental protection initiatives, including low-carbon emission strategies, waste reduction plans, energy-saving solutions, smart energy management products and more energy-saving production processes. These measures not only reflect Accor's commitment to environmental protection, but also demonstrate its industry leadership in sustainable development.

Question: What innovative measures has Accor taken in green and sustainable development? What long-term green development plans or projects are there in the future?

Le Ruisi: Accor has currently implemented a number of innovative measures to promote environmental protection and sustainable development. First, Accor strongly supports the plastic reduction initiative and has launched industry-leading biodegradable solutions in Greater China. In order to reduce the use of disposable plastic bottles for toiletries, Accor has successfully developed low-impact polylactic acid (PLA) capsules and placed them as linings in custom-designed ceramic containers for hotel bathroom supplies. This move is expected to have a significant long-term impact on environmental protection. Secondly, Accor is actively paying attention to the problem of food waste in hotels, and using advanced technology and artificial intelligence to measure food waste and establish a working baseline. Given that food waste is one of the important sources of greenhouse gas emissions, Accor has begun to pilot a new food waste measurement process in some hotels and plans to promote it to other hotels in Greater China.

The partnership established with the China Hotel Association is very important for Accor's future green development. This cooperation will provide Accor hotel operations with unified, credible and independently audited information to help consumers make more environmentally friendly travel choices. In addition, the China Hotel Association will provide in-depth support to Accor to assist in identifying key actions and priority areas related to green operations to ensure that Accor can make positive impacts and contributions in terms of the environment and society.

Question: How do you think Accor's green practices will affect or promote the entire hotel industry?

Le Ruisi: We are committed to leading the industry, managing our operations in a sustainable way, and constantly creating opportunities for improvement to achieve more reasonable resource utilization. In the face of the challenges of climate change and industry change, Accor believes that the power of a single company is not enough, so we advocate the industry to work together and act in unity. In particular, our strategic cooperation with Jinjiang Group is based on the common vision of promoting sustainable transformation of the entire hotel industry. Both parties are committed to reducing the industry's carbon emissions and inspiring the entire Chinese hotel industry to embrace new ESG standards to help Accor achieve its zero-carbon goals.

In addition, Accor has jointly released a white paper with Ctrip Group and McKinsey, "Exploring the Way of Environmentally Friendly Travel in China", which details how the hotel and tourism industry can work with travelers through various initiatives to make the Chinese market a more sustainable and health-conscious destination for living, working and exploring. Currently, Accor is actively promoting the recommendations in the white paper, including the recent low-carbon hotel project in cooperation with Ctrip.

Accor will continue to lead by example and set an example for the industry. Continuing to be at the forefront of the green transformation of the hotel industry will surely inspire more industry partners and travelers to jointly address global environmental challenges and make collective efforts to achieve sustainable development goals.

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