Dereck & Beverly attended the Annual R&C Les Rendez-Vous conference in Paris in November 2024. They were invited & attended a Special board & Governance dinner at the UNESCO building on the 16th of November. This was rather fitting as after some months of work on the Relais & Chateaux Sustainability Commission, Dereck gave some talks in Paris at the congress, and both he and Beverly lobbied for a vote of all 580 member properties. The resolution to partner with UNESCO officially as the first hospitality industry association was adopted by an overwhelming majority. This moves hospitality to a level where all members pledge to follow 12 major pillars of sustainability.
The potential impact is huge, where the association that has over 350 Michelin stars, more than 3,000 traveller visit per day, and the social media impact of hundreds of million followers, can turn this into a major leadership drive for sustainability for the organization.