AUSTRALIA: Accor has announced four of its hotels in Queensland have been Sustainable Tourism Certified by Ecotourism Australia, which is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Ecotourism Australia’s Sustainable Tourism Certification programme was introduced in 2022 and the standard is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
Sustainable Tourism Certification is designed for all tourism operators and businesses in the tourism supply chain to meet and gain recognition for best practice sustainability initiatives.
Earlier this year, Accor entered into a strategic partnership with Ecotourism Australia to certify all Accor hotels, apartments and resorts across Australia and the Pacific as ECO certified or Sustainable Tourism certified businesses.
The hotels which have achieved the certification so far include Sofitel Brisbane Central, ibis Styles Brisbane Elizabeth Street, Novotel Brisbane South Bank (pictured), and Pullman & Mercure Brisbane King George Square.
Sarah Derry, CEO of Accor Pacific said: “We are thrilled to have our hotels certified by Ecotourism Australia. Sustainability is redefining our business model and we are proud to lead the industry forward by investing in our sustainability actions and activities in the region.”
Ecotourism Australia’s certification assesses businesses across the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, environmental impacts, cultural impacts, and socio-economic impacts for which each business is independently audited.
It evaluates a hotel’s environmental performance, community engagement, and contribution to conservation. Hotels which achieve the certification have implemented initiatives such as energy and water conservation, waste management, and community engagement.
Accor will be enrolling a further 150 hotels in the Pacific into the Sustainable Tourism Certification programme.
Ecotourism Australia CEO, Elissa Keenan, said, “We are delighted that Accor Pacific is leading the industry across Australia and New Zealand with this commitment to achieving international best practice sustainability using Ecotourism Australia’s 30 years’ experience in sustainable tourism.
“This is a key partnership for our organisations and we look forward to working with Accor properties across their hotel, apartment and resort brands on sustainable and responsible tourism practices.”
Accor has 19 international brands across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia, including Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Handwritten Collection, Novotel, Mercure, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and Ennismore’s SO/ and TRIBE.
Image: Novotel Brisbane South Bank, supplied by Accor.