Name: Pat Maher
Title: Senior Vice President, Engineering and Program Management
Company: Marriott International
Number of years with company: 22
Work experience prior to current position: “I was an electrical engineer involved in the designing of all types of buildings.”
Primary responsibilities: “I am responsible for both the leadership and strategy development of the Lodging Engineering Department and Program Management Organization.”
What he likes most about his work: “I enjoy working for a company like Marriott that is so committed to facilities and asset management.”
BETHESDA, MD.—Overseeing engineering and resource management programs at almost 3,000 hotels cannot be an easy task, especially when those properties include more than 5,000 engineers. For Pat Maher, senior vice president, engineering and program management for Marriott International, it is a challenge he welcomes.
Maher helps lead numerous environmental programs at Marriott that have earned the company global acclaim. Those programs are all driving the company toward its goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 6 percent per guestroom by 2010. Marriott recently announced that it had reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 70,000 tons in one year—the equivalent of removing 10,000 cars from U.S. streets.
“Energy conservation at Marriott is a top priority,” Maher says. “Our aggressive energy management methods set the standard and help us achieve tremendous savings both in environmental impact and business expenses.”
Three key programs are helping Marriott reach its greenhouse gas reduction goals: a Retro-Commissioning Program, Group Re-Lamp Campaign, and participation in EPA’s Climate Leaders program.
“Through the Retro-Commissioning Program, Marriott’s engineering department, in cooperation with top caliber energy conservation consultants, conducts comprehensive, systematic evaluations of all operating systems at individual hotels,” Maher says. “The evaluations assess the amount of degradation that has occurred due to normal, daily operations and determine a strategic plan for restoring a property to peak operational performance. The primary area of focus during the evaluations is energy consuming equipment.”
Lighting Program Has Positive Impact
As part of its Group Re-Lamp campaign, Marriott’s goal is to ensure that every Marriott property has energy saving fluorescent lighting in place. Last year was a successful one for the program; Marriott properties replaced a total of 450,000 light bulbs and saved 65 percent on overall lighting costs and energy usage in guestrooms.
“In our first year as a participant in the EPA’s Climate Leaders program, we were able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 2 percent per available room,” Maher says.
In his role as senior vice president, engineering and program management, Maher leads Marriott’s Energy Conservation Program training. He has also been an active participant in the company’s Environmentally Conscious Hotel Operations (ECHO) program over the past six years. The program is 15 years old and focuses on water and energy conservation, indoor air quality, recycling, wildlife preservation and neighborhood cleanups.
Maher also oversees Marriott’s participation in EPA’s Energy Star program. The company announced earlier this year that more than 85 of its hotels will earn the Energy Star label this year. That means that each building will use 35 percent less energy than comparable buildings. Marriott now has more than 200 hotels participating in Energy Star and has set a goal to certify at least eight hotels per month.
“At Marriott, we believe we have a role to play in protecting our environment in all the communities in which we live and work,” Maher says. “We work in partnership with our hotel owners and franchisees to implement sustainable environmental practices. We believe our programs achieve tremendous savings both in environmental impact and business expenses.”
For more information on Marriott’s environmental programs, click here.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
