AccorHotels reports ‘success’ with UK urban gardens initiative

AccorHotels has reported successful growth in its sustainable food initiative, with 26 of the group’s UK properties now containing an urban vegetable garden.

According to the brand the garden at Novotel London Waterloo produced enough pesticide-free salad last year to supply the green salad bar for 28 days in total, and grew enough basil to keep the kitchen stocked all summer.

Novotel London Blackfriars produces almost half (40%) of the mint it requires for the mojitos made in its bar, and the brand also regularly uses honey produced from beehives on hotel rooftops across its restaurants.

The group has set an overall target of creating 1,000 urban vegetable garden in UK properties by 2022, which is part of the brand’s ‘Planet 21’ sustainable development strategy.

AccorHotels also recently announced that it has partnered with Too Good To Go, an online marketplace for surplus food, as part of its bid to reduce food waste. It is the first hotel group to join the Too Good To Go platform in the UK.

CEO Thomas Dubaere said: “As a group that produces a lot of food for our guests across the world, it is vital that we play our part in reducing food waste and investing in sustainable food systems.

“Our backing of agroforestry projects supports sustainable food production in rural areas, but almost 70% of the global population will live in cities by 2050 so we also feel it is important to mitigate the increasing consumption in urban areas.”