WASHINGTON, D.C.—The JW Marriott Washington, DC announced, during Environmental Awareness Month, that the hotel has been awarded a Gold level LEED certification for Building Operations and Maintenance. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence in green building. The JW Marriott Washington, DC is also expected to receive the Energy Star award in late September.
The LEED Certification achievement, along with JW Marriott Washington, DC’s energy conservation awards, achievements, and efforts, such as using solar energy, reducing gas emissions, fryer oil recycling and food waste composting, makes JW Marriott Washington, DC one of the DC area’s industry leaders in energy conservation and sustainable practices.
“A focus on environmental issues and sustainability is becoming more and more vital in today’s business climate. Our customers are increasingly inquiring about our energy conservation efforts and expect the hotels they do business with to have implemented green meeting practices. It’s our responsibility to ensure that we are doing our part to protect the environment as well as meet the needs and desires of our consumers,” said Tushaar Agrawal, General Manager, JW Marriott Washington, DC. “Achieving these energy conservation milestones has truly been a hotel-wide effort, led by Director of Engineering, Rajaram Srinivasan, and his team.”
What the Hotel Has Saved
In the last three years, the hotel has saved 1,764,287 kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to CO2 emissions of over 152,000,000 smartphones being charged; reduced CO2 emissions by more than 725 metric tons, equivalent to the amount of carbon that would be removed from the air by 1,532 acres of forest annually; and conserved over 29,000 therms of natural gas, equivalent to gas emissions saved by 65 tons of waste recycled rather than tossed in a landfill.
In August 2022, JW Marriott Washington, DC installed solar panels on its rooftop. Once fully operational, the solar panels are anticipated to produce 20 percent of the energy needed by the hotel.
Earlier this year, the hotel announced that it received the 2021 global Energy Management Leadership award, one of the highest accolades in energy management and conservation. JW Marriott Washington, DC was the first hotel to receive the award, which is presented by the International Clean Energy Ministerial and recognizes organizations that have implemented energy management systems to achieve energy, economic, and sustainability benefits. The hotel was recognized for reducing more than 725 metric tons of carbon emissions and was one of four organizations in the world to receive the award in 2021.
In addition, the hotel once again was certified by the United States Department of Energy’s SEP 50001 program and received elevated recognition at the highest Platinum level using the SEP 50001 Scorecard. The hotel has been recognized through the SEP 50001 program since 2016 and is one of the few hotels in the world to receive the Platinum distinction.
As part of the Marriott International portfolio, the hotel’s efforts contribute towards the company’s 2025 sustainability & social impact goals, including to achieve a minimum of 30 percent renewable electricity use and reduce the portfolio’s environmental footprint by cutting water intensity by 15 percent, waste-to-landfill by 45 percent, food waste by 50 percent, and carbon intensity by 30 percent while Marriott International submits its science-based targets for approval, as part of the company’s ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at the very latest.
