Accor, one of the world's leading hotel operators, has announced plans to launch Planet 21, a unique sustainable development program involving all its hotels and customers.

With 40,000 new rooms created every year, Accor intends to combine development with growth that respects the environment and local communities through this program, said a company official.

Planet 21 consists of 21 commitments and the same number of quantified goals adopted by Accor looking to 2015, including: employees training in the prevention of diseases in 95 per cent of hotels, the promotion of balanced dishes in 80 per cent of establishments, the use of eco-labeled products in 85 per cent of hotels or the reduction in water and energy use of respectively 15 per cent and 10 per cent in owned and leased hotels.

Announcing the launch, Denis Hennequin, chairman and CEO of Accor, said, 'The name is taken from Agenda 21, a program of goals signed in Rio in 1992, and reminds us of the urgent concern to be addressed in the 21st century: the need to change our methods of production and consumption to preserve human beings and eco-systems.'

'At a time when the group is embarking on a phase of brisk expansion, with the aim of becoming the global reference in hotel industry, we are reaffirming our choice of responsible growth capable of generating shared value for all,' he stated.

'With the Planet 21 program, we are putting sustainable hospitality at the core of the Group's strategy, development and innovation. I am convinced that sustainable development will lead us towards a new business model.'

'Planet 21 gives us a fantastic driver of competitiveness for our brands, attractiveness for our customers and partners and loyalty for our employees,' said Hennequin.

Since 1994, when it created an Environment department, the Group has adopted numerous solutions to contribute to the development of local communities and reduce water and energy consumption and the environmental footprint of its hotels.

With Planet 21, Accor is reaffirming its determination to put sustainable development at the heart of its activities.

'To achieve the 21 commitments made by the Group, one thing is primordial: involving our customers in order to move ahead even faster and multiply our results, he added.-TradeArabia News Service