Marriott hotels and offices around the world are making a conscious and visible effort to go green—among them are the company’s Maryland hotels, which are also making efforts to employ environmentally friendly practices.
The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront recently installed a new laundry system, which uses 50 percent less water, 60 percent less detergent and saves $15,000 monthly, according to the Marriott Web site. The new Residence Inn National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., is one of Marriott’s six hotels testing coreless bathroom tissues. Marriott’s University of Maryland Conference Center in Adelphi, Md. is the country’s first LEED-certified hotel and includes several green features, such as the roof, which is made of recycled tires. And, currently being built at the site of an old Baltimore brewery is the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott-Inner Harbor at Historic Brewers’ Park, a green hotel expected to open in the spring of 2009.
Marriott’s green practices in Maryland are just a small sample of the company’s efforts around the globe, Dasha Ross, of Marriott Communications, said.
“What many of the hotels are doing or have already done is that they have retrofitted their buildings to make sure they run more efficiently,” Ross said. “They use more efficient and energy saving products; fluorescent light bulbs and water-conserving showerheads are examples. Low flush toilets are another example and coreless bathroom tissue. Those are types of things that we continue to look for to put in our hotels everywhere.”
Initiatives to go green within the company are researched and decided by Marriott’s executive level Green Council, which was formed in 2007, Niki Zoli, Social Responsibility and Community Engagement Manager for Marriott International Inc., said. The Council includes co-chairs EVP, CFO and President of Continental European Lodging Arne Sorenson, EVP of Global Communications and Public Affairs Kathleen Matthews, and President and Managing Director, Marriott Lodging – International Ed Fuller. The Council works with both internal departments and outside organizations, such as Conservation International, to determine environmentally friendly practices and initiatives.
It is up to the hotel owner whether or not to go green or strive for LEED certification, but Marriott makes a conscious effort to encourage going green.
“It is up to us to build a business case for our owners and franchises for why they would want to have more environmentally friendly hotels,” Zoli said. “The cost savings are there—it’s evident, and the more we can do that, the more we can operate in a more sustainable way worldwide.”
Going green is not a new practice for Marriott —it’s been part of the company’s business practices for several years.
“It’s not something that’s new for us. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years ago. Initially it was more for cost savings but we still had the same benefits. Now it sort of is a business imperative…beginning with the push to look at businesses with a magnifying glass and hold them accountable in terms of what they’re doing in their operations every day,” Zoli said. “With that in mind and thinking about our company culture in serving our communities, customers, and associates, we wanted to move forward with even further greening of Marriott hotels.”
Take a tour of the country’s first LEED-Certified hotel, the Marriott’s Hotel and Conference Center at the University of Maryland:
View the groundbreaking on the Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott-Inner Harbor at Historic Brewers’ Park expected to open in the spring of 2009:
Videos courtesy Marriott International, Inc.
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