Driving sustainable growth in hospitality: Accor leverages ESG reporting to strengthen market leadership

Making everyone speak ESG: building bridges inside a global organization

In 2024, Accor was part of the first wave of companies subject to the CSRD. This European regulation redefines the requirements for non-financial transparency, imposing more rigorous, transparent, and structured reporting at the group level.

Beyond the legal obligation of reporting, Accor approaches this exercise as a concrete opportunity to accelerate its sustainable transformation and to go even further in terms of exemplarity in its sector, while uniting its teams around a common goal. Given the magnitude of the task, Accor enlisted Wavestone to frame, structure, and coordinate this large-scale project.

The challenge was significant: consolidating several hundred ESG data points (both quantitative and qualitative), largely sourced from the international network of hospitality establishments, with the collaboration of over 100 representatives from the group’s key functions (Sustainability, Talent & Culture, Legal & Compliance, Finance & Risks, Procurement, IT, etc.) and the commitment of regions and brands.

Where ESG reporting becomes a catalyst for sustainable transformation

Launched in January 2024 and named SHARP (Sustainable Hospitality Accor Reporting Project), the project quickly established itself as a true catalyst for transformation.

From the outset, clear governance was established, with the strong involvement of the Group Sustainability and Finance Directors as sponsors. Around forty contributors mobilized to form a cross-functional task force, with representatives for each of the 10 thematic reporting standards (Climate, Biodiversity, Local Communities, etc.).

The creation of decision-making bodies, bringing together members of the Executive Committee from key functions as well as Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin and his deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin, facilitated key decision-making processes.

Among the crucial preliminary tasks was defining the group’s reporting scope. Accor has an asset-light business model (the vast majority of Accor-branded establishments are not owned by the group) and was therefore not required to include hotels under management contracts in its direct reporting scope. Nevertheless, the group made the ambitious choice to do so, in order to better reflect its core business and social responsibility.

Another pivotal step in the project was refining the group’s double materiality analysis by assessing its impacts, risks, and opportunities. This work was conducted with a broad panel of internal and external stakeholders (NGOs, investors, clients, etc.). It provided a fresh perspective on Accor’s CSR issues through a defined framework. Highlighting inter-team synergies optimized the internal organization of the projects. Specific issues related to the hospitality sector, such as sustainable food, were also integrated into this double materiality analysis.

Once these foundations were laid, various workshops helped identify and prioritize the relevant data to be collected, adapt internal practices to the new standards, and prioritize the implementation of the projects to be carried out. The drafting of a new Nature policy, the formalization of the climate transition plan, and the collection of new HR or circular economy data are just some of the initiatives successfully undertaken under the project’s impetus.

The project’s execution was both rigorous and progressive. A dry run (test) allowed for testing the collection and consolidation of the required data, identifying areas of weakness, and ensuring the reliability of the processes.

In parallel, particular attention was paid to rigorously anticipating audit requirements, in collaboration with the audit teams, which helped secure deliverables and streamline the review process, while raising the overall maturity level of the reporting.

Throughout the project, a genuine effort was made to foster a culture of sustainability: decryption webinars, information newsletters, and dedicated collaborative events helped sustainably involve teams and create a collective dynamic around sustainability. The project also helped to develop a cross-functional common language, unifying interpretations of sustainability issues in such a large and diverse group.

Beyond metrics: a springboard to holistic ESG value

In just over a year, Accor not only achieved its goal of delivering an unqualified certified CSRD report but was also awarded the prize for best CSRD reporting*, praised for ‘the clarity and relevance of its sustainability report, its transparency on the methodology used, the identified limitations, and the thresholds chosen for the double materiality analysis’ at the CNCC Sustainability Challenges – CSR, a strong recognition from the profession.

But the greatest success may lie elsewhere: in the employees’ commitment to the project, its ability to engage a wide range of functions around sustainability issues, and in the sustainable establishment of cross-functional management of CSR issues.

This success is based on strong mobilization at all levels, from members of the hotel and restaurant network to the leaders, and on the embodiment of the project by committed multifunctional teams.

Today, this project constitutes a solid foundation for going further on the most complex or emerging topics, by developing ambitious action plans on issues such as water resource management or dialogue with local communities. The group is also considering an overhaul of its ESG Information System, in which Wavestone is supporting them, to ensure the reliability and automation of data collection.

By structuring its practices and making its impacts and actions even more readable, the group is paving the way for more responsible and integrated governance, capable of combining economic performance, social impact, and environmental preservation. A sustainable momentum towards comprehensive performance.

*2025 Sustainability Awards organized by the French National Company of Auditors (CNCC) and the National Council of the Order of Chartered Accountants (CNOEC) in partnership with the Observatory of CSR (ORSE).