Marriott's expanding green programs flourish

Last week, Marriott invited its hotel guests to "green" their hotel stays by buying carbon offsets to protect rainforests in the Juma reserve in the state of Amazonas in Brazil. Marriott, in cooperation with nonprofit Conservation international, had previously agreed to donate $2 million to rainforest preservation in Amazonas. Protecting rainforests, as you probably know, is an important way to mitigate the threat of climate change because tropical forests remove lots of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Marriott's initiative is noteworthy for several reasons. First, it's part of a broad green push by the company. Second, it's a great way to expose millions of people to the role of rainforests in preventing climate change. Third, the company says that its efforts will help attract so-called "green" meetings.

As part of its overall environmental commitment, called Spirit to Preserve, Marriott has agreed to reduce its fuel and water consumption by 25 percent per room over the next 10 years, install solar power in as many as 40 hotels by 2017 and expand reuse and recycling programs. They are also greening their supply chain by buying key cards made of 50 percent recycled plastic, replacing more than 100,000 pillows with new ones made from recycled bottles, eliminating cardboard from more than 2 million rolls of toilet paper a year, and buying Bic pens made with recycled material. The company is also ramping up its development of LEED-certified hotels.

The new "green your stay" program invites guests who book on www.marriott.com to offset the carbon generated during their stay for as little as US $10, or US $1 per day for 10 days. The cost to offset the carbon generated in a single night in a hotel is about $1, Matthews explains, but the $10 minimum contribution helps insure that the vast majority of the funds donated will go to rainforest preservation, rather than to administrative costs.

This program expands a relationship between Marriott and a nonprofit called the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, which supports about 2,500 residents of the Juma area who help protect the forest from illegal logging and farming. Contributions help fund people and equipment to monitor the forest, as well as other community services, designed to provide an alternative livelihood for the Brazilian poor.

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