Relais & Châteaux partners with Unesco to implement sustainability initiatives

Relais & Châteaux has partnered with Unesco to help develop and implement sustainable conservation initiatives across the travel and hospitality sectors.

The collaboration is composed of two core elements. The first will see Unesco support Relais & Châteaux’s ’12 Commitments to Sustainability’, which involves each of the network’s 580 members working towards three missions that “preserve hospitality traditions, contribute to the protection of biodiversity and help build a more humane world".

The second element will include the launch of new projects led by Relais & Châteaux to help protect Unesco sites. Beginning in 2025, a number of Relais & Châteaux member properties located near Unesco sites will unveil projects to encourage guests to visit the locations, while protecting the biodiversity, respecting local cultures and preserving the natural heritage. Nearly half of the association’s member properties are located within two hours of a Unesco Biosphere Reserve.

President of Relais & Châteaux, Laurent Gardinier, said: “The partnership with Unesco is a natural step for our association to take. Our objective is to support and encourage change, and to continue to rethink our properties’ operational models so as to dovetail travel – a source of personal enrichment – with environmental, social and economic objectives.”

Unesco’s director general, Audrey Azoulay, added: “Never in history has nature experienced such dramatic decline. One million species (of the eight million identified to date) are facing the threat of extinction. With one voice, Unesco and the Relais & Châteaux Association are calling for us all to change our perspectives and practices with regard to food and reestablish a balance between humankind and the environment.”

Pictured: Wickaninnish Inn, set within Unesco Biosphere Region Clayoquot Sound, Canada