Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) announced today its collaborative involvement with the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on a groundbreaking initiative to unite hotel industry efforts to calculate and communicate carbon impact by agreeing on a standardized methodology and metrics informed by the GHG Protocol standards. For the first time, Marriott along with other hotel industry leaders are collaborating to reach a consensus on a single methodology for calculating carbon footprints and consistent metrics for communicating emissions.
“We are proud to be ‘at the decision-making table’ for this historic effort; it continues our more than 20 year commitment to conservation and preservation, said Tim Sheldon, Marriott’s Global Operations Officer and Co-Chair of the company’s Executive Green Council. “With the increase in global travel, we have a responsibility to ease our business impact on our natural environment. Working through this partnership to create consistency in carbon calculation is a major step for the hotel industry and helps to support our sustainable initiatives.”
The Carbon Measurement Working Group driven by hospitality members within ITP and WTTC includes along with Marriott, Accor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts International, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Red Carnation Hotel Collection, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Premier Inn - Whitbread Group and Wyndham Worldwide. The Phase One methodology has had input from Greenview Consulting and has been reviewed by the World Resources Institute.
The Working Group was formed to address inconsistencies in hotel companies’ approaches and to devise a unified methodology based on available data. Currently, carbon measurement metrics vary widely which can lead to confusion. Additionally, the number of methodologies and tools in use make transparency within the industry difficult to achieve.
David Scowsill, president and CEO of WTTC states, “The hotel industry recognizes its responsibility to mitigate its environmental impact. Indeed many hotel chains globally have set carbon reduction targets. Through this initiative the industry is furthering its commitments to corporate and individual consumers by helping them to understand their environmental footprint. A harmonized approach to quantifying and communicating the sustainability of the industry’s products is a firm step towards accomplishing this. We are delighted to be collaborating with ITP and the hotel executives within this Working Group on this historic initiative.”
Stephen Farrant, director of the ITP, comments: “Customers and investors rightly want to know about the carbon footprint of the hotels they are dealing with. The fact that 12 global companies in the international hotel sector have come together to achieve, for the first time, this degree of consensus on the complex issue of carbon measurement is testament to both the crucial importance of addressing the carbon issue and the success of the ITP and WTTC joint working group through this first phase.”
As part of a multi-phased approach, the group has and will continue to engage a broad cross-section of stakeholders to solicit input and feedback. The objective of the first phase is to have standards available for the 2012 RFP season.
Building on more than 20 years of energy conservation experience, Marriott is committed to protecting the environment. The company’s Spirit To Preserve® environmental strategy calls for: greening our multi-billion supply chain; further reducing energy and water consumption by 25 percent per available room by 2017; expanding our portfolio of green hotels and buildings and green hotel development tenfold over the next four years; educating and inspiring employees and guests to support the environment; and investing in innovative, large-scale conservation projects worldwide.
