When Marriott speaks, the entire industry listens, and so it will with the company’s 2024 Serve 360 Report highlighting the company’s global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts and progress toward its 2025 Sustainability and Social Impact Goals. The Report reflects data for the calendar year ended December 31, 2023. The Report can be accessed here.
Marriott now consists of more than 30 brands, and more than 8,700 properties in 139 countries and territories. In its report, Marriott separates its 2025 Sustainability and Social Impact goals into four areas: Nurture Our World, Sustain Responsible Operations, Empower Through Opportunity, and Welcome All and Advance Human Rights.
It would be impossible to summarize all of Marriott’s progress here, but the following are some initiatives that caught my attention:
Marriott has established a target to reach net-zero value chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by no later than 2050. Understanding the importance of a resilient and comprehensive strategy to drive progress toward this target, Marriott launched the company’s Climate Action Program (CAP) to all managed and franchised properties, globally, centered around three key components. The three components include: setting science-based targets, building climate fluency (educating stakeholders about where carbon comes from and how it can be reduced), and action planning to reduce carbon. Marriott verified its near- and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in April 2024. Marriott reduced carbon intensity by 20.3 percent since 2016 and energy intensity by 9.8 percent.
As of year-end 2023, more than 7,100 EV chargers were installed at more than 1,800 Marriott properties around the world.
Onsite Solar Analysis
In 2023, Marriott completed an onsite solar analysis of global managed and franchised properties to identify locations that could have an estimated average return on investment of at least 10 percent from the potential installation of onsite solar panels. Based on this analysis, Marriott plans to identify and work to develop opportunities for both the company and ownership groups to invest in renewable energy options.
In early 2024, Marriott’s Global Design Sustainability team published a suite of tools and guides to assist in the development of sustainable buildings.
Water intensity has been reduced by 9.3 percent since 2016.
In 2023, Marriott held a “Food Waste Reduction Rally,” in which hotels submitted more than 350 highlights about their food waste reduction practices, such as separating and measuring food waste, creating new dishes and drinks with food scraps, donating surplus food to charitable organizations, and composting.
Achieved 95 percent compliance for the transition to large format residential bath amenities for certain brands across managed and franchised hotels globally in 2023, with plans to extend the transition to additional properties in 2024.
Contributed to HARP’s Creation
Between 2020 and late 2023, Marriott, along with four other hospitality companies and two GPOs, created the Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement (HARP). HARP, an EcoVadis-powered sector initiative, supports the acceleration of positive impact across the industry by working to improve the sustainability performance of hospitality suppliers.
Of total egg spend, increased cage-free egg spend to 56.13 percent and 47.18 percent for properties in the U.S. & Canada, respectively.
Over the past 10 years, more than $6.2 billion has been spent with diverse suppliers, including minority-, women-, veteran-, disabled-, and LGBT-owned businesses.
There were 47.3 percent women in global executive positions as of year-end 2023.
Connecting Refugees with Hospitality Careers
Marriott is committed to hiring more than 3,000 refugees across the globe by 2026. To support this goal, it collaborates with global, national, and local nonprofits to connect refugees with hospitality careers and develop resources to support the refugee recruitment and hiring process.
In 2023, Marriott, along with hotels, associates, Business Councils, and guests, contributed more than $51 million to support communities and philanthropic causes, with nearly $25 million provided through in-kind donations and more than $26 million donated in cash contributions.
A total of 3.1 million hours of associate volunteer time was contributed in 2023.
In 2023, a total of 71+ million Marriott Bonvoy points were donated to support disaster relief efforts.
More than 1.2 million associates across managed and franchised Marriott properties have been trained on human trafficking awareness since 2016.
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