"We are proud to be recognised for our efforts and commitments in sustainable development under Planet 21," says Michel Molliet, COO, AccorHotels Greater China. "Today, travellers are in favour of hotels that are committed to sustainable development. Since the programme's inception 5 years ago, it has delivered two-thirds of its 21 objectives with over 90% of our hotels embarking on a continuous-improvement drive. Our vision is to drive the change towards positive, more socially responsible and innovative hospitality."

In the Greater China region, AccorHotels has made significant progress in reducing water consumption by 3.1% per hotel guest and lowering energy consumption by 6.7% per available room since the Planet 21 programme was launched five years ago.

The Summit was organised by a number of Shanghai publications with support from various local businesses under the guidance of the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality, Shanghai Commission of Commerce and Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau. Over 400,000 people cast their votes through social media platforms with 100 case studies submitted by 83 companies. 49 cases were selected by a panel of judges based on popular votes cast by members of the public. The winners were selected based on the CSR initiatives implemented and how it helped the city achieve the target of innovation and growth in industrial restructuring and upgrading.

With more than 20 years' commitment to sustainability, AccorHotels is a leader in CSR in the tourism and hospitality sector and the Group is committed to continual improvement of its sustainability credentials. With encouraging results from the first phase of Planet 21, the Group continues to scale up ambitions by banking on innovation and accountability. Planet 21 [2016-2020] is structured into four areas of action enlisting its employees, customers, partners and local communities with two key priorities in food and beverage with targets to reduce food waste by 30% and 100% of renovated or new hotels to be low carbon buildings.