Accor reaches major milestone with 100th hotel in Australia securing Sustainable Tourism Certification

Accor, Australia’s largest hotel operator, has secured globally recognised Sustainable Tourism Certification of its 100th hotel in Australia by Ecotourism Australia - a significant milestone on its sustainability journey.

Of the 100 certified hotels, 30% are strategically located in the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne, making them particularly well-suited to meet the sustainability and business needs of Accor’s corporate clientele.

This milestone brings Accor closer to its goal of having 100% of its network across the Pacific region achieve Sustainable Tourism Certification by the end of 2025.

The 100 hotels, resorts and apartments from all states and territories across Australia have each demonstrated their strong commitment to environmental, socio-economic, cultural and responsible management principles, implementing global best-practice sustainable tourism standards to achieve certification.

Accor Pacific Chief Operating Officer PM&E, Adrian Williams notes "Just over a year after announcing our partnership with Ecotourism Australia, we have proudly reached the significant milestone of 100 Sustainable Tourism Certified hotels across the country, with Novotel Sydney City Centre being the landmark 100th certification.

“This achievement underscores our commitment to sustainability and responsible tourism.

"Sustainable Tourism Certification not only enhances the competitiveness and attractiveness of our hotels but also boosts operational excellence and revenue generation. This achievement aligns perfectly with the expectations of today's travellers and our corporate clients, who increasingly seek responsible options and prefer hotels with third-party sustainable certifications.

“We will continue to strive for excellence in sustainability and set new benchmarks for the industry.”

Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive Elissa Keenan said the commitment by Accor was significant and added “Ecotourism Australia is proud to partner with Accor Pacific in support of its ambition to certify all Australian properties with our world-class Sustainable Tourism Certification.

“Achieving Certification is a rigorous process, involving over 200 key indicators across the four pillars of sustainability and strong business practices. It can take up to twelve months and includes an independent third-party audit before Certification is awarded. Hotels must demonstrate ongoing commitment, with periodic independent audits required to maintain Certification.

“Accor continues to demonstrate their industry leadership through commitment to authentic sustainability, drawing on Ecotourism Australia’s 30 years’ experience upholding globally recognised sustainable tourism standards.

“We are pleased to see Accor Pacific are making significant commitment to, and progress on achieving their goal to certify every hotel in the world and reaching this incredible milestone in our region.

“It has been remarkable witnessing each of the hundred properties take up the challenge and demonstrate spirited enthusiasm toward their certification, implementing a range of creative and impactful solutions to sustainability challenges.  

“Ecotourism Australia looks forward to continuing to support Accor and its properties on their sustainability journey.”

From luxury to economy, Accor operates 19 international brands across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia, such as Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Handwritten Collection, Novotel, TRIBE, Mercure, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget, as well as Ennismore’s SO/. 

Ecotourism Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, established in 1991, that promotes and supports Australia’s visitor economy through building capacity and actively promoting sustainable tourism operations and systems. Our key legacy program – ECO Certification – was the world’s first national ecotourism certification program and the Sustainable Tourism Certification, launched in 2022 supports non-nature based businesses achieve global best-practice. Today there are some 2000 accommodation, tours and attractions certified by Ecotourism Australia.

Image top: Accor The Johnson Brisbane  Art Series Pool; Image centre: External view of the Novotel Sydney City Centre, Sydney, NSW; image below: Accor Mercure Melbourne Doncaster Pool. Images courtesy of Accor Pacific.