With the world set to celebrate Earth Day this Monday, April 22, Accor is also getting ready to celebrate its annual “Planet 21 Day” on Sunday, April 21. A coordinated initiative across Accor hotels around the world, Planet 21 Day engages guests, employees, communities and partners to take part in sustainable activities on and beyond Earth Day. The day is part of Accor’s brand-wide sustainability program, Planet 21, focused on sustainable and positive hospitality.
This year’s Planet 21 Day initiatives center on food waste reduction with the theme “Love Food, Not Waste” and speak directly to Accor’s recent commitment to reduce food waste by 30% by the end of 2020. Accor hotels throughout North & Central America are marking the global holiday with a number of waste-reduction initiatives for both employees and guests to support this impressive pledge.
In addition to food waste reduction efforts, Planet 21 also pledged last year to minimize plastic waste by prohibiting the use of plastic straws in all hotels in the region. The Group’s Healthy and Sustainable Food Charter also outlines that by 2024, or sooner if possible, farmers, processors and suppliers will be asked to incorporate animal welfare criteria into the production of broiler chickens, with an initial focus on hotels in the United States and Canada.
This year’s Planet 21 Day and Earth Day activities within North & Central America include:
- Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu – The Charlevoix hotel welcomes guests to take part in one of two Earth Day workshops on cooking responsibly to eliminate food waste hosted by the culinary team. Guests will learn how to make juice from apple scraps and address common food waste misconceptions. The hotel will also donate leftovers from this year’s Easter Brunch to local organization “L’association bénévole de Charlevoix.”
- Fairmont Palliser – The Calgary property has partnered with a local brewery to give leftover and stale bread a second life. Last Best Brewing & Distilling converts bread donated by the hotel into a signature brew called ODB (Our Daily Bread).
- Fairmont Hotel MacDonald – From April 15 to May 5, chefs at the Edmonton hotel will launch an initiative to separate coffee grounds, a main contributor to food waste, and give them a second life by adding them to the soil of on-site flower and herb gardens.
- Fairmont Tremblant – Members of the culinary team at Fairmont Tremblant will prepare meals for La Samaritaine, a local non-profit relief organization, using ingredients like beef bones, vegetable peels, and spice and herb remnants that would typically be thrown away. Chefs will prepare healthy meals for the families in need including an Asian soup and beef curry with rice.
- Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa – The wine country resort will feature “Nose to Tail” dishes at 38North Gastropub, including a multi-use approach to beef and duck in a variety of menu items, as well as an Earth Day cocktail special on April 22. Guest will also be encouraged to take advantage of the on-property bikes for transportation to Sonoma Square that day, and complimentary lavender lemonade will be available to enjoy.
- Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth – Pastry sous-chef Christophe Sportellini will create a large chocolate sculpture in Marché Artisans in honor of Earth Day made of the same recycled chocolate used to make all of the iconic hotel’s impressive chocolate sculptures. A video released on Earth Day will explain this waste-reducing pastry technique and share a simple recipe for guests to make their own confections using leftover Easter candy.
- Fairmont Orchid – Guests are invited to take part in a Planet 21 Day Picnic featuring a local and organic menu in the hotel’s mango grove in celebration of Earth Day. Restaurants throughout the Hawaiian resort will also feature zero waste specials and menu items made from their on-property gardens including mango smoothies and honey and lavender macarons.
- Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown – Fairmont Washington D.C., Georgetown will collaborate with long-time partners at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to share more about their Food Waste Warriors Program in honor of Earth Day. Executive Chef Jordi Gallardo will also conduct a demonstration about preventing food waste and share recipes with the WWF team.
- Fairmont San Jose – The hotel will partner with local organization Hunger at Home to repurpose would-be food waste into food donations. Chefs will turn daily leftover pastries from the hotel into a delicious bread pudding for Hunger at Home, an organization which serves as the conduit between businesses and non-profits to channel excess food to those in need. Fairmont San Jose will also feature zero food waste menus in its food and beverage venues in honor of Earth Day.
- Fairmont Copley Plaza – Fairmont Copley Plaza will offer a food waste reduction-themed menu option to guests of Oak Long Bar + Kitchen. The menu, which will be printed on seed paper that can be planted, will be promoted to guests and visitors leading up to Earth Day and feature dishes that are both delicious and sustainable.
In addition to the activities listed above, numerous properties throughout the NCA region will also offer modified menus and educational activities in their employee cafeterias on Earth Day to decrease food waste and raise awareness of the issue.
The Planet 21 program is the Group’s platform that hopes to encourage all within the hospitality industry to curb its environmental impact as well as inspire a new sustainable model that brings about enduring changes to the environment. In 2016, the Group announced its new Planet 21 commitments for 2020, reaffirming its pledge to drive change towards positive hospitality. The program puts the Group’s strong sense of responsibility to the environment and its people into action by providing sustainable hotel experiences through major innovations, inclusivity, employee engagement, and work with local communities to create a positive impact
Read more about Accor’s Planet 21 commitments here.
