Novotel Partners With WWF For Ocean Protection

Novotel, Accor’s founding brand, has announced the launch of an international partnership with WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) that will see Novotel champion for the protection and restoration of oceans through science-based action and conservation projects.

Novotel-WWF Partnership

Under the three-year agreement, from 2024 to 2027, WWF will provide technical expertise to Novotel, helping its 580 hotels worldwide to have a positive impact on the ocean, and challenging and guiding the brand and its properties throughout many aspects of its operations. The partnership will also see Novotel sponsoring several critical WWF ocean-related conservation projects across the world. Through the partnership, Novotel aims to focus on oceans, the world’s biggest carbon sink and greatest source of planetary balance which regulates the climate and protects habitats and wildlife.

Key Action Plan

Novotel will build a three-year science-based action plan, rooted in three of the United Nations’ priority ocean-related actions, namely: reducing marine pollution and ocean acidification, particularly from land-based activities; fighting overfishing and promoting sustainable fishing models; and increasing scientific knowledge and research for ocean health.

The partnership with WWF will help Novotel drive operational change and action for the greater good of the ocean and deliver upon its Positive Impact Plan. With a specific focus on the ocean, the WWF partnership has four main objectives: 

• Work on sustainable seafood policies and supply chains for Novotel hotels and restaurants
• Raise guests’ and employees’ awareness of the importance of the world’s oceans
• Advocate for ocean preservation to inspire industry and policymakers
• Preserve and restore marine biodiversity through support of five WWF flagship projects around the world

Target Areas 

To inform Novotel’s work, WWF is conducting extensive site visits to Novotel hotels to understand property-level operations and practices, assess procurement data and make recommendations. WWF will provide a dedicated steering committee to assess Novotel’s progress on its commitments throughout the partnership.

The partnership will see Novotel supporting essential WWF conservation projects around the world, including:

• The protection of Posidonia, an endemic flowering plant of the Mediterranean which plays a key role as a carbon sink (removing carbon from the atmosphere) and provides benefits to 25 different marine ecosystems
• The identification and removal of “ghost gear” – lost, abandoned and otherwise discarded fishing gear - the deadliest form of marine plastic waste which impacts marine turtles and mammals, elasmobranchs such as sharks, rays and skates, and marine birds
• Supporting the WWF France’s Blue Panda boat, which sails across the Mediterranean carrying out work including scientific dives, protecting cetaceans from collisions with marine vehicles, and protecting endangered species of rays and sharks; as well as introducing the public to the Mediterranean, its conservation challenges, and the work being done to protect it
• Tracking and tracing marine turtles in Asia-Pacific, gathering knowledge on their movements from nesting beaches to migratory corridors and foraging grounds, and mapping critical populations and conservation areas. Six of seven species of marine turtles remained threatened by harvesting, illegal trade, being caught by commercial fisheries and the loss of nesting beaches
• Protecting the sea turtles of the Western Atlantic, strengthening regional cooperation on sustainable fishing techniques and combating illegal fishing. Fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing will help protect leatherback turtles breeding on coastal areas of the Guianas, and green and olive ridley turtles from Brazil to Venezuela.

Statements

Commenting on the Novotel WWF partnership, Karelle Lamouche, chief commercial officer, Premium, Midscale & Economy Division, Accor, said: “We are delighted to announce that Novotel is embarking on an exciting new chapter. Novotel, Accor’s founding brand, is a powerful brand, leading the Midscale segment in most of the world. Today, we are starting a bold new ambition, championing a sustainability cause globally. Novotel has a long-standing commitment to innovation and balance, and we now take that commitment further, by choosing to help the greatest source of balance on our planet – the ocean. To make this ambition a reality, we are proud to unveil a groundbreaking partnership with the WWF - the World Wide Fund for Nature. Together with our partners, teams and guests, Novotel will lead the charge toward a sustainable future for our oceans, pioneering a new era of environmental stewardship in our hotels and driving industry change. There is a deep imbalance in the way the ocean is treated. Globally, over-exploitation and pollution are depleting the ocean's resources, while only a tiny fraction of climate finance is allocated to its preservation. The ocean’s health affects us all and our collective actions have a profound impact. We will rebalance how we engage with it, consume its resources, and invest in its protection and restoration.  As a primarily land-based brand, Novotel has a unique opportunity to increase awareness of the impact everyone, everywhere has on the ocean and inspire positive change for the ocean’s future.”

Yann Laurans, conservation director, WWF France, said “WWF aims to restore ocean health for the benefit of people and nature. The oceans are an essential resource of biodiversity that must be protected. WWF is committed to strategic and innovative partnerships with the largest international and national companies in the world to help them reduce their ecological footprint in a concrete way and to make a positive contribution to the environment. We are confident our world-renowned technical and scientific expertise will help Novotel drive operational change for the greater good of their business and the ocean”.

Brune Poirson, chief sustainability officer, Accor, commented, “Novotel's commitment and investment in ocean preservation, alongside the WWF, represent a major turning point in its history. It demonstrates the determination of the brand and the Accor Group to act resolutely in favour of biodiversity and fight climate change, while inspiring the entire sector. Tourism has a major impact on marine resources. Yet, it is also very dependent on them. Our responsibility is not only to mitigate this impact but also to come up with impactful solutions that will help the industry adapt to climate change and its consequences. Our ambition is thus to support our owners in turning social and environmental challenges into sources of opportunities, for their assets and for the societies in which they operate.”