I'm Arne Sorenson, the CFO of Marriott International and co-chair of the company's green council. Bill Marriott asked me to be a guest blogger to tell you how Marriott's on the move in the Amazon rainforest. As a matter of fact, I'm standing in the middle of the rainforest right now in a small 17 home community called Boa Frente, where I landed a few hours ago by seaplane.
The scenery is breathtaking. It's very peaceful. All you can hear are the sounds of the river rushing by, the leaves rustling and birds singing. That and what looked like dozens of children. I've been meeting and visiting with the people that live here and learning about their culture. They are very warm and friendly and are incredibly proud of this place and want to preserve it.
We've just cut the ribbons on the new J.W. Marriott, Jr. schoolhouse in this small town, where the dozens of children wearing hats that said "Guardians of the Rainforest" sang the national anthem. It was touching in so many ways.
In partnership with the state of Amazonas and the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, Marriott is helping to protect 1.4 million acres of this rainforest called the Juma Sustainable Rainforest Reserve. Why? Because under a business as usual scenario, more than half of this rainforest will be deforested by the year 2050, resulting in the emission of 190 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. That's more than 60 times our global annual output.
Helping protect this rainforest is the centerpiece of Marriott's five point environmental strategy and part of our commitment to address climate change. It's an important part of building a sustainable future, not just for the company, but for our guests and associates.
I'm Arne Sorenson; thanks for helping me keep Marriott on the move.
Marriott Helps Protect the Amazon Rainforest
Thank you for your efforts in perserving the Rainforest. What an excellent way to extend your Spirit To Serve philosophy.
Posted by: Amanda | 11/09/2008 at 04:21 AM
I am a Gold Elite member of Marriott Rewards. As such, I wanted to take the time to make a couple of suggestions.
I recently stayed at your properties in Barcelona, Spain and Cap d'Ali, France with very positive experiences. Those experiences do lead to the following suggestions, or actually questions. Why do hotels in the United States, generally, do not utilize the energy conservation techniques found in European hotels? This includes the requirement to use a door key to activate electrical power and lesser water usage toilets. (And only issue one door key per guest so that the guests MUST remove their key upon exiting the room.) Second, I have yet to stay in any Marriott property, anywhere, where the used towels are not replaced everyday. I try to conserve the environmental resources by reusing towels, i.e. following the instructions given at each property. But without fail, it does no good.
Thanks for the great business and vacation experiences.
Posted by: Steve Lamphier | 11/04/2008 at 01:51 PM
Thank you, Mr. Marriott for all of your efforts regarding the nuturing and protection of the delicate planet we all call home. If Arne ever needs an assistant...I'm ready to go! God bless.
Posted by: Melissa Walker | 11/03/2008 at 10:44 AM
Just wanted to say thank you...the slides are very touching and Marriott's corporate commitment to being both an economic power & environmental preserver is setting an example for other corporate entities in a time & season when quarterly results rule. In addition, Marriott serves as a source of inspiration to environmentally concerned individuals around the globe...thank you again!
Strength & Wisdom
Jason
Posted by: Jason Moore | 10/27/2008 at 09:20 AM
Dear Mr. Sorenson, Mr. Marriott
Thank you for this excellent article which reflects how much our globe and its healthy natural resources are being abused. I have researched and written
an article about global warming in January of this Year in the Jordanian Living Well Magazine. The Amazone Forest accounts for a third of our
Earth's ecology. It destruction is having catastrophic impacts on our environment but people are not moving yet because the nature of the impacts
are to be felt in the long run. The rising temperatures that all has been feeling are the LEAST of our worries. Here in Jordan rain has been altered
drastically. I remember that rainfal used to start here around October. Now its not starting till late December and its density isn't as it used to be. Changes on the precipitation
map is going to happen and in a couple of years everybody will be praying for solutions on how to surface out of this huge predicament. However if we move now
we can lessen the impact of what will happen tomorrow. Your efforts have shown how huge chain companies can act to fix the damage as we proceed towards
the unassuring future. As a free lance writer I'm doing what I can and writing about this subject in our Jordanian Magazines to increase awareness in our local communities.
Everybody has to play his/her role correctly as this requires a joint effort from all members of our global community to help our ecology. Please do what you can to save our planet and its
resources.
Posted by: Feras Werr | 10/24/2008 at 04:43 AM
Maybe instead of the rainforest you should be in the amazon of this finacial crisis. I can't think of worse timing.
Posted by: wpw | 10/24/2008 at 01:24 AM
why not coming to China to do more for the environmental protection.
Posted by: Suzie | 10/24/2008 at 12:40 AM
Arne,
We are also heavily committed in protecting the rain forests of the world. We have millions of acres in our conservation agreement and I would like to talk to you about our strategy and see if there is something to be done in concert.
Thanks and good work.
Michael Crandus
Posted by: Michael Crandus | 10/23/2008 at 11:45 AM
Another story to prove that Marriott is not all about business but about those who are in need all over the world. Congratulations on the schoolhouse and helping the children with education and hope for a better life. Way to go, Arne!
Posted by: Nancy Young | 10/23/2008 at 11:12 AM