As part of Plant for the Planet initiative, AccorHotels Greater China has been working in partnership with Zigen Association for Rural Education and Development to develop a fruit orchard plantation for the past five years at Qinglong County in the province of Hebei.
The development was part of the reforestation scheme to help local grass-roots and communities to supplement their rural income and over 1,200 local farmers and beneficiaries were given the opportunity to learn about the importance of environmental protection, organic farming practices and biodiversity enrichment.
Michel Molliet, Chief Operating Officer, AccorHotels Greater China, said, “We have planted over 53,000 fruit trees since the development of this beautiful orchard and part of our global initiative is to plant over 10 million trees by the end of 2021 under Plant for the Planet initiative.”
From November 24th to December 31st, properties under the AccorHotels Greater China network will celebrate the five year anniversary of Plant for the Planet initiative on the ‘Apples for the Planet’ campaign. A series of events will be featured at their dining outlets which will include unique apple recipes and menu creations for guest to sample.
“It’s been a great opportunity to have partnered with AccorHotels on the reforestation development in Qinglong County. The project has created jobs for local farmers in the area and improved their standard of living.” Said Haiyan Zhang, Vice President of China Zigen Association for Rural Education and Development.
Plant for the Planet was launched in 2009 in which AccorHotels engaged a unique reforestation project designed to protect biodiversity. The principle is to offer guests the option of reusing their towels and in turn allocating their laundry bills to tree planting projects. A tree is planted every minute around the world and every day, 30 trees are planted across Greater China. More than 5 million trees have been planted since the programme was launched in 2009.