Marriott in carbon offset deal with Brazil's Amazonas state
By Matthew Garrahan in New York
Published: April 8 2008 03:00 | Last updated: April 8 2008 03:00
Marriott International has signed a landmark deal with the Brazilian state of Amazonas that will see the hotel group launch a carbon offset programme for its guests and invest in a fund aimed at securing 1.4m acres of rainforest.
The company has invested $2m in the fund, which aims to prevent the deforestation of the threatened Brazilian rainforest.
Marriott guests will be invited to invest in the fund, which the company said would offset the carbon emissions associated with their stays.
Marriott is one of the world's largest hotel groups, with more than 525,000 rooms. The company estimates it generates 2.9m metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, equivalent to 30kg per room.
Arne Sorenson, Marriott's chief financial officer, said guests would be allowed to pay one or two dollars per night to offset the emissions associated with their stay.
He said that the group decided to launch the scheme because its guests and corporate customers had expressed interest in "greening" their stays.
"We think this will create a deeper bond with our customers and will also drive some incremental business," he said.
Eduardo Braga, the governor of Amazonas, said the Marriott agreement was "the first project on reducing emissions from deforestation in Brazil and one of the first in the world". He added that the deal would "make history because it demonstrates how rainforest preservation can be used as a climate strategy".
The move comes as more companies look to reduce or offset their carbon emissions. News Corporation said recently it had become "carbon neutral", while PwC, Marks and Spencer, Reckitt Benckiser and Yahoo have all pledged to offset their emissions.
However, with hotels requiring vast amounts of energy and construction and global operators such as Marriott having extensive portfolios, it is likely to be more difficult for hotel groups to become fully carbon neutral.
Marriott said yesterday that it would reduce fuel and water consumption by 25 per cent over the next 10 years and install solar panels at up to 40 of its hotels by 2017.
The group is also seeking to encourage its principal suppliers to provide greener products. "We can green our supply chain," said Mr Sorenson.
This extended to the pens Marriott buys for its guests, he added. The company buys 47m pens a year but has developed a biodegradable pen with Bic that is manufactured from recyclable materials.
