Marriott release global CSR report

In our ongoing reviews of corporate-wide CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility Programs) I wanted to take a look at how Marriott International  are performing and on the surface I’d say very well. The hotel giant has grown in leaps and bounds over recent decades and now commands a mind-boggling total of over 3,100 Marriott properties dotted throughout 67 different countries around the world. In keeping with my earlier thoughts, when an organization as large as this draws a line in the sand concerning CSR the impact can be extremely far-reaching, international in scope and also educational in terms of a certain level of interaction about their policies with every one of the millions of guests who stay at their hotels each year. The hotel industry on the whole occupies a very visible platform when it comes to CSR, specifically in terms of an innate understanding from its customers (guests) that waste reduction and energy conservation both had an interactive part to play amongst the guests and staff. Globally Marriott employs more than 150,000 people who are also therefore in tune with the sustainable practices of their employer, to my mind another positive byproduct from the process.

As for the report the numbers are very encouraging, in the last three years Marriott international has reduced energy consumption by 11%, lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 10.7% and is currently on track to achieve the targeted 25% decrease in energy and water consumption per room by 2017. In conjunction with these statistics Mariano released their first official sustainability report which will then be distributed to shareholders, customers, NGOs and Associates. The measurements were laid out and bench-marked by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Marriott thus become the first large US-based hospitality company to report against this initiative. Chairman and CEO J.W.Marriott Jr explained the company’s goals:

“We are committed to being a corporate social responsibility leader, benchmarking with like-minded companies, and providing the information and transparency that our stakeholders increasingly expect,”

The full report is available online and captures the entire scope of the companies economic, social responsibility and environmental performances on a global scale. The report itself is a comprehensive look at the diversification of the Marriott CSR program and does much to recognize some key components of a business that operates in so many different countries and impacts the lives of employees, local tourism and guests alike. Of particular interest to me were the company’s announcements concerning labor practices, human rights and their supplier relationships. There’s also a remarkable amount of property combined to be managed, maintained and upgraded not to mention the potential for green construction throughout the company when it comes to new buildings that respect the environment around them. From a long-term perspective few industries are as reliant upon sensible environmental practices as tourism and travel which also adds weight and significance to hotel chains putting their best foot forward. Some of the highlights from the report are listed below:

• Reducing water consumption per available room by 8.2 percent in two years
• Increasing LEED® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) registered and certified hotels from 18 to 67
• Seeding $2 million to jumpstart an Amazon rainforest preservation project in Brazil and $500,000 to help protect access to fresh water in China
• Surpassing the goal of 500 minority- and women-owned hotels a year early, reaching 525 in 2009
• Reviewing community programs and NGO partnerships addressing poverty alleviation, disaster relief, education and children’s wellbeing

For a first official report some lofty and encouraging results are on display, my hope would be that the entire hotel industry views this as performance worthy of mirroring. You can read about the entire report from Marriott via this link.  Also worth your time is a look at the GRI guidelines which I must devote a future blog post too. www.globalreporting.org.