Marriott Hotels

Marriott Hotels has stepped up to the sustainability plate by employing green practices that have a smaller impact on the environment.  The chain seeks to balance these earth-friendly initiatives while still meeting the needs of their hotel and resort guests.

First, Marriott is funding an environmental strategy to help protect and preserve 1.4 million acres of endangered rainforest in the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve.  The project commits $2 million to support and protect the employment, education, and healthcare for almost 2,500 people living in the area.

Further, Marriott is reducing its use of fuel and water consumption by 25% per hotel room over the next ten years as well as installing solar power within 40 hotels by the year 2017.  They are also implementing “reduce, reuse, recycle” programs in 90% of hotels, including guest and meeting rooms.  The chain has also replaced 450,000 light bulbs with fluorescent lighting, began a linen reuse program, and installed 400,000 low-flow showerheads and toilets. The Environmental Protection Agency has taken note of these efforts, presenting Marriott with a 2009 Sustained Excellence award and placing the ENERGY STAR label on 275 of their hotels.

When it comes to hotel supplies, Marriott makes no exception to the rule of staying green.  Hotel room key cards are made of 50% recyclable materials, pillows filled with recycled bottle material, coreless toilet paper made of 20-40% recycled fiber, non pre-washed towels that eliminate excess water waste, 75% recyclable pens, low-VOC  paint, biodegradable laundry bags, and laundry detergent that cuts the amount of phosphates released into waste water by 100,000 kg.  In addition to receiving Energy Star labels from the EPA, many of Marriott’s buildings have achieved the LEED status (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council.

By the end of 2009, Marriott’s global headquarters in Bethesda, MD seeks to obtain LEED Existing Building status (which shouldn’t be too difficult, since last year alone the building diverted 64% of waste from landfills).  The headquarters also has four Smart Cars available for employees who commute to work by carpool or public transportation.

Educating their employees and guests to support planet-friendly actions is also very important to the Marriott.  Marriott invites guests to join in their efforts and green their hotel stay by making a donation to the Rainforest Preservation Fund.  What’s more, Marriott promotes Green Meetings–if guests book ten or more rooms during selected dates, Marriott hotels around the world will contribute 5% of the total cost of the group’s guests rooms towards rainforest preservation.  Another new program is Eco Events, a menu listing eco-friendly products and services for guests.

Green Lodging

Element by Westin
All of Westin’s Element hotels are currently pursuing LEED certification, and offer a number of eco-conscious features aimed at minimizing waste, and conserving energy. Guest rooms are outfitted with recycling bins, water-efficient faucets and showerheads, toiletry dispensers (as opposed to wasteful miniature bottles), LED lights, and oversize windows to let in as much natural light as possible. Further, the wooden frames for each guest bed are crafted from certified forests. Element hotels house Energy Star rated appliances, and use recycled carpets as well as low-VOC paints. Learn more at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/element/index.html.

Kimpton Hotels
Kimpton employs a chain-wide EarthCare policy guaranteeing guests of numerous earth-friendly features and practices including: green cleaning products, use of recycled paper and soy-based inks, complimentary organic and Fair Trade coffee, opportunities for linen/towel reuse, in-room recycling, energy efficient lighting, and low-flow faucets and showerheads. Their Kimpton Kids program is an added bonus, which provides guests with a list of local kid-friendly activities (parks, restaurants, classes, etc.) as well as in-room child safety kits. For more, visit http://www.kimptonhotels.com/.

Andaz by Hyatt
Hyatt’s new Andaz hotels boast sustainability on both global and local scales. In addition to using low-impact materials, serving plenty of organic food, and a pledge to re-use and recycle as much as possible, each hotel seeks to create alliances with the surrounding community. Visit http://www.andaz.com/ for more.

DoubleTree
The majority of DoubleTree’s hotels are certified by a number of eco-conscious programs, including State Green Lodging, Energy Star, Green Seal, and the Green Hotels Association. Further, they’ve joined forces with the Arbor Tree Foundation to create Teaching Kids to Care, an environmental program that aims to educate students in the US and Canada about the vital role that trees play on our planet. To learn about DoubleTree and Teaching Kids to Care, visit http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/promotions/thinktrees/index.jhtml.

Green Hotel Certification Programs
Looking for something more specific? Numerous hotel certification programs exist to provide green-minded travelers with the information they need to vacation consciously and responsibly.

• Energy Star rates for the energy efficiency of appliances used in over 240 US hotels.
• EU Eco-Label provides information on green hotels in countries that are a part of the European Union.
• Green Globe lists certified-green hotels for over 80 countries worldwide.
• LEED is the US Green Building Council’s certification for energy efficiency and conservation.
• Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas is a collaboration between the Rainforest Alliance and the International Ecotourism Society.