April 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DALLAS, April 10, 2007 – In honor of international Earth Day on April 22, Accor North America, which operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy hotels, will launch Accor Earth Guest Week from April 15-22. As part of the Earth Guest initiatives implemented at Accor hotels worldwide, Accor North America will plant 20,000 trees representing each Accor employee in North America, implement a 65-point environmental check list at all properties and corporate, and donate $375,000 to educational and charitable groups, while maintaining their extensive, on-going environmental practices. These activities are led and put into action in local communities by Accor North America’s six brands and 1200 properties – Sofitel, Novotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Studio 6 and Motel 6 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The Accor North America Earth Guest Week efforts are designed to maximize Accor employee involvement in beautifying Mother Earth, educating and helping the community and implementing their own Earth Guest initiatives. The posting of 65-point, tri-lingual environmental check list posters throughout Accor North America’s properties and corporate headquarters conveys to employees pro-environmental actions including training, consumption reduction, monitoring and analysis. This check list enables Accor’s employees to reach the ultimate goal of reducing their collective environmental footprint.
Accor North America supports education and the development of a strong community as the best devices to protect and maintain the earth’s resources. To demonstrate their support, ANA has made charitable contributions of $375,000 to several reputable institutions that benefit the local and global community. ANA is donating to America’s Second Harvest, the largest relief network in the U.S. whose mission is to eradicate hunger; to the Tom Joyner Foundation to benefit minority students attending college; Canine Companions, an animal assistance program for people with disabilities; and scholarship funds for underprivileged students seeking a career in hospitality to the University of Houston, Johnson & Wales University and Penn State.
Other initiatives include offering of organic food on the hotel restaurant menus and donating 10 percent of sales to America’s Second Harvest; the creation of employee mini organic herb gardens, offering battery recycling locations at select hotels and the corporate headquarters, and hybrid automobile displays.
On an ongoing basis, Accor North America monitors all properties to ensure everyone is doing their part to protect the fragile environment. Here are a few key conservation and earth-friendly elements Accor operates year-round:
· Participation in energy and water conservation programs including creation of a monthly energy / water consumption report to inform each hotel of their month to date progress in regards to consumption savings, taking into consideration variables such as weather and hotel activity levels (all Sofitel, Novotel and Ibis hotels since 2004)
· Water saving shower heads and faucet aerators (all brands)
· Ozone machines were installed on laundry washers; these machines allow the hotel to wash linen and towels with cold water instead of hot and reduce the use of soap/detergent (all Sofitel hotels with laundry)
· Using environmentally sensitive Ecolab™ laundry and cleaning products (all Red Roof, Motel 6 and Studio 6 locations)
· Technologically advanced heating and cooling systems to reduce consumption of power (all brands)
· Florescent bulb recycling in all 670 plus corporate-owned Motel 6 and Studio 6 properties by the end of 2007
· Corporate office recycling program
· Printing 5 million brand directories on recycled paper using Soy ink (all Red Roof, Motel 6 and Studio 6 directories)
· Ongoing extensive retrofitting of fluorescent lighting, which consumes 75% less energy than conventional bulbs (all brands)
About Accor North America, Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, Accor North America operates more than 1,200 upscale and economy properties including nationwide economy leaders Red Roof Inn, Studio 6 and Motel 6 and the upscale Sofitel and mid-scale Novotel and Ibis hotel locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, visit www.accor-na.com.
Accor, European leader in hotels and tourism, global leader in corporate services, operates in nearly 100 countries with 160,000 employees. It offers to its individual and corporate clients nearly 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:
- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Studio 6, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands: over 4,000 hotels and 475,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre, ambassador of the gastronomy ‘à la française’ worldwide;
- Services to corporate clients and public institutions: 21 million people in 35 countries benefit from Accor Services products – meal and food vouchers, people care, incentive and loyalty programs.
Media Contacts:
Corporate
Janice Maragakis/Laura Rojo-Eddy
Accor North America
Tel: 972-360-5958 / 972-360-5970
jmaragakis@accor-na.com / lrojo@accor-na.com
Sofitel
Nicole Hernandez / Jami Coon / Lisa Herbst
Lou Hammond & Associates
Tel: 212-308-8880
nicoleh@lhammond.com / jamic@lhammond.com / lisah@lhammond.com
Novotel
English-speaking Canada
Tania Ensor
Golin-Harris
Tel: 416-642-7965
tensor@golinharris.com
French-speaking Canada
Leslie Quinton
Massy-Forget relations publiques
Tel: 514-842-2455 x 21
lquinton@mfrp.com
Red Roof Inn, Motel 6 & Studio 6
Jennie Roberts Kasavich / Jennifer Jordan / Tamsin Ayre
Elmore Public Relations
Tel: 713-524-0661
jennie@elmorepr.com / Jennifer@elmorepr.com / tamsin@elmorepr.com
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