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Marriott and Brazillian State of Amazonas Partner to Protect Rainforest Global Lodging Leader Announces Integrated Strategy to Address Climate Change Bethesda, MD – Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) and the state of Amazonas today signed an agreement to support the first project of its kind to help protect 1.4 million acres of endangered rainforest. This innovative partnership between government and the private sector is one of the first in the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation. Marriott has committed $2 million to fund an environmental management plan administered by the newly created Amazonas Sustainable Foundation. By year end, Marriott guests and group customers will also be able to offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated from their hotel stays by contributing to this rainforest fund. In addition to offering this carbon offset, Marriott is taking new steps to reduce the company’s water, waste and energy consumption; green its supply chain; build greener hotels; and engage employees and guests to take action. At Marriott, we believe the future of business is green,” says Arne Sorenson, Chief Financial Officer and co-chair of the company’s Green Council. “Building on a 20-year track record of responsible energy consumption and waste reduction, we believe rainforest preservation is critical to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.” “This is the first project on reducing emissions from deforestation in Brazil and one of the first in the world,” said Amazonas Governor Eduardo Braga. “This agreement between the government of Amazonas and Marriott will make history because it demonstrates how rainforest preservation can be used as a climate strategy.” To reduce and offset its global environmental footprint, which it has calculated at 2.9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually*—or .030 metric tons (65.5 pounds) per available room —Marriott has developed a five-point strategy in collaboration with Conservation International, a global conservation organization. This includes:
“We are all guests on this planet, and that’s why an integrated green strategy is a business imperative,” says Kathleen Matthews, Executive Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs and co-chair of Marriott’s Green Council. Marriott has been actively involved in energy conservation for more than 20 years, and over the last decade, replaced 450,000 light bulbs with fluorescent lighting, introduced linen reuse programs, and installed 400,000 low-flow showerheads and toilets at its hotels worldwide. The company has also helped communities around the world through environmental clean-up projects. These industry-leading efforts have been recognized by the EPA, which awarded Marriott with its 2008 Sustained Excellence award and placed the ENERGY STAR® label on more than 250 of its hotels (the most of any hotel company). * Calculating Marriott’s Carbon Footprint: To calculate its footprint, the company assessed the electricity and gas consumption in its guest rooms and public spaces at its nearly 1,000 managed hotels worldwide, headquarters building and regional offices. Employee travel was also included. The calculation will be certified by a recognized third party in the coming months. For more details about this announcement, visit www.marriott.com/environment. ###MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with about 3,000 lodging properties in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2007 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry’s most admired company and one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE®, and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 Sustained Excellence Award and Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2007, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $13 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com.
Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) provides a new forum for collaboration between the private sector and the environmental community. Created in partnership with Conservation International (CI) and the Ford Motor Company, CELB operates as a division of CI and is governed by a distinct executive board of leaders from the business and environmental communities-engaging the private sector worldwide in creating solutions to critical global environmental problems in which industry plays a defining role. For further information about CELB, please visit celb.org. |
MEDIA CONTACT Katrin Olson CELB [email protected] 703-341-2768 |
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