French hotel chain Accor has announced a major sustainable development initiative called Planet 21 at the IMEX tradeshow in Frankfurt. Central to the new scheme is a "carbon optimiser" which will allow meeting and seminar organisers to know and cut the carbon footprint of their events.

The hotel chain has 1,900 properties in 90 countries, and the initiative is a direct result of Accor research that said that 84 per cent of business customers are sensitive to sustainable development, as opposed to 76 per cent of leisure travellers; with 57 per cent of business customers taking sustainable development into account when they choose a hotel, as opposed to 51 per cent of all Accor guests.

Sophie Flak, Accor's vice president of academies and sustainable development, said: “The scheme is ambitious. While most carbon footprint calculators measure only emissions from production processes and the energy consumption that powers hotel equipment, Planet 21's new system includes indirect emissions associated with organising seminars, including waste treatment, paper and, especially, food.”

Planners can calculate their groups' carbon footprint on Accor's booking engine, and in Accor hotels there is a call for action at every step of the hotel stay, from check-in to check-out. Food waste, Flak added, is of paramount importance, with the chain preparing 130 million meals a year.