Accor announced the launch of a Sustainability Innovation Program, a global initiative designed to accelerate the identification, testing and scaling of resource management solutions across its network. Set to run for five years, the program will focus this year on water, a critical operational resource under increasing pressure, according to the announcement.
The program, according to the announcement, marks a shift from local initiatives to a structured, scalable approach to innovation. Following a four-phase methodology — framing, sourcing, testing and scaling — it will identify, test and deploy practical solutions that deliver measurable operational and environmental impact across Accor’s network.
By 2030, said the announcement, the program aims to deliver more than 100 “high-impact” resource-saving solutions; where successful, solutions will be scaled across the network and shared with the wider industry.
The initial focus on water, said the announcement, reflects the fact that this resource is a “double materiality issue” for Accor, being one that the company both has an impact on and heavily depends on. Taking action on water is therefore both a responsibility and a business imperative, said the announcement, supporting Accor’s goal to gradually transform its operations toward reduced impact and increased resilience in an increasingly water-constrained world.
Accor has already taken concrete steps to address this challenge, according to the announcement. In 2025, the company achieved a 5.2% reduction in water intensity compared with 2024, supported by initiatives such as equipping over 1,100 hotels with low-flow showerheads by the end of 2025.
As an early example of this approach, Accor is partnering with Water Unite in the first year of the program to pilot solutions across key operational areas including water efficiency, reuse and water management in luxury operations. By combining Accor’s global footprint with Water Unite’s innovation ecosystem, said the announcement, the partnership aims to accelerate the deployment of practical, scalable solutions, support Accor’s water stewardship ambitions and set new standards for water management in hospitality.
Coline Pont, group chief sustainability officer of Accor, said, “Balancing growth and sustainability continues to be a major challenge for the hospitality sector, and our ambition is not only to improve performance and reduce our impact within our own hotels, but to act as a positive catalyst for the wider industry by sharing solutions that are proven to work.”
With the new program, said Pont, “we are taking a structured approach to advancing this ambition.” Through the initial focus on water and partnership with Water Unite, she said, “we hope to demonstrate how this new approach can deliver real operational impact and network-wide value while enhancing the security of the planet’s most valuable resource.”
