Accor has announced the appointment of Brune Poirson as Chief Sustainability Officer. Reporting directly to Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin, Poirson will be responsible for defining, driving and monitoring the group’s commitments, strategy and the roll-out of its action plans on sustainable development. She will also be a member of the Executive Committee and lead the Accor Solidarity Foundation and ALL Heartist Fund.
“For more than 25 years, Accor has been at the forefront of efforts to address the environmental and human challenges related to the development of travel and tourism,” says Bazin. “With Brune’s appointment, I want us to scale up our commitments in terms of environmental protection, give fresh impetus to our efforts to support our local communities and uphold, wherever we operate, our strong beliefs and our actions. Taking positive action to support the environment, as well as the men and women who drive our industry on a daily basis, is a must. In this area too, I want us to set an example by being both daring and trailblazing.”
Poirson comments: “I am delighted to be joining a global leader in hospitality and to be able to contribute my experience and beliefs, and to take action. Through more than 5,100 hotels worldwide, hundreds of owners and partners, several hundred million guests and the experienced teams in the field, we have a wonderful opportunity to take practical and decisive action on a daily basis. In this role, I want to further the vision that Accor has had since its creation – bringing to life positive, contemporary and responsible hospitality.”
Having been committed to sustainable development throughout her entire career, Poirson has experience working in both the private and public sector. Within the French government, she championed the Anti-Waste Law, which among other things addressed plastic pollution, and has been a member of major organisations both in France and internationally. Until recently, Poirson was a member of the French Parliament too, and for three years served as the Secretary of State for the Environmental Transition. She was also the first French person to be elected Vice President of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
