Marriott Celebrates Green Initiatives this Earth Day

Today is Earth Day and in honor of this day of environmental awareness, I want to share with you some of our “green” news. First, I am excited to tell you that earlier this month, our headquarters building in Bethesda, Maryland, was certified as LEED-Gold, which is the U.S. Green...

Discussing Climate Change in Copenhagen

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP-15, opened in Copenhagen on December 7th. Fifteen thousand delegates are expected to attend, including 110 heads of state and government from 192 countries. Their objective is to establish a binding global climate agreement, to include as many countries as possible,...

Two Courtyard Hotels Make Eco-History

They say you can't be in two places at once, but I learned today you can, thanks to technology! Today we celebrated two big milestones with one big event. First, the Courtyard Portland City Center in Oregon, which opened just a few months ago, officially received its LEED-Gold certification from...

Our Commitment to the Brazilian Rain Forest

Our company has joined the worldwide effort to save the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest from the deforestation that contributes to climate change. It is something I have blogged about before. We have contributed money to build a middle school, a dormitory and a health clinic in the Juma Sustainable Development...

Dimming the Lights for Earth Hour

To kick off Environmental Awareness Month this April, we are participating in an event on Saturday created by the World Wildlife Fund called Earth Hour. At 8:30 p.m. local time on March 28th, many of our hotels and offices around the world will be turning off all their non-essential lights...

Green Your Hotel Stay for $1 a Day with Marriott

When my executive team started talking with me about carbon offsets, I said, "What's that?" I'm old enough to remember "carbon copies," which is how you made multiple copies before we had computers and printers. I've learned since that carbon offsets are a way to offset the greenhouse gases generated...

Greening Marriott's Supply Chain

Today, I'm going to talk to you about toilet paper . . . and Marriott's commitment to the environment. Seriously, there really is a connection. Earlier this year, we announced our five-point environmental strategy to help address climate change. One of these goals is to green our $10 billion supply...

Thanking Our Loyal Marriott Customers

Today kicks off a very special week for Marriott and our customers. Every October, we celebrate Global Customer Appreciation Week. We do this to thank our customers around the world for the business and their loyalty. This year, the theme is "The Spirit to Preserve." Marriott has done a lot...

Marriott Helps Protect the Amazon Rainforest

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...

Celebrating World Environment Day

June 5 marks a very important day to encourage environmental awareness - it's called World Environment Day. I've told you before about many of our global initiatives like our partnership with the Brazilian state of Amazonas and our efforts to reduce fuel and water consumption globally. While efforts like these...