Worldwide: Brune Poirson, former vice president of the United Nations Environment Assembly, has been named as Accor’s chief sustainability officer effective 5 May 2021.
Poirson will report directly to Accor’s CEO Sébastien Bazin, and will become a member of the executive committee. She will be responsible for defining, driving and monitoring the group’s sustainability commitments as well as rolling out action plans in development.
Prior to her role, Poirson worked within the French government as secretary of state to the minister for the ecological and inclusive transition, tackling plastic pollution via the country’s anti-waste law. Recently, she was a member of the French parliament and was the first French person to be elected vice president of the United Nations Environment Assembly.
Commenting on her new position, Poirson said: “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 new role, I want to help to further the vision that Accor has had since its creation – bringing to life positive, contemporary and responsible hospitality.”
Bazin added: “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. With Brune Poirson’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 and 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.”
