Sometimes business is personal. A promising new effort by Marriott International to curb deforestation in a corner of the Amazon took root, improbably, at a Super Bowl Party in Bethesda, Md., early in 2007.
The host was Mark London, a lawyer with a passion for the Amazon that dates back to the early 1980s when he visited Brazil and wrote his first book about the world’s most important rainforest. (Mark’s most recent book is called The Last Forest.) One guest was Arne Sorenson, another lawyer, now CFO of Marriott, whose headquarters are in Bethesda. Another was Gov. Eduardo Braga of Amazonas, a progressive leader who is looking for ways to get western help to preserve the Amazon without compromising local sovereignty, a sensitive issue in Brazil. Arne and Gov. Braga got to talking, and that led, eventually, to the agreement signed yesterday in Washington, D.C.
Of course, Marriott wouldn’t take on an environmental initiative ike this if it didn’t make business sense. This does–it has PR value as well as potential bottom-line payoff. The company wants to attract groups that plan “green†meetings, so it had better have a solid environmental environmental program in place. What’s more, Marriott owns lots of beachfront property, so it has reason to worry about about the long-term impacts of global warming.
The Marriott-Amazon connection is the topic of today’s Sustainability column. Here’s how it begins:
Preventing the destruction of rainforests should be high on the to-do list of anyone worried about global warming. Scientists say burning or destroying forests accounts for at least 20% of global, greenhouse gas emissions.
But what can be done, as a practical matter, to slow down deforestation in Brazil or Indonesia, where poor people focus on survival, and not on abstract threats like climate change?
Marriott International, the $13-billion a year lodging company, and the government of Amazonas, a Brazilian state that oversees rainforests bigger than Texas, have come up with a creative, if unorthodox, answer: Marriott will pay villagers in an endangered corner of the Amazon not to cut down trees.
The column focuses on Marriott’s Amazon initiative, but the company has also initiated a broader effort to measure and reduce its own environmental footprint, developed in consultation with Conservation International. Marriott says it will cut back on fuel and water consumption on a per-room basis over the next decade, install solar power at a few hotels, build more “green†hotels and work with its suppliers to provide more environmentally-friendly products. They include a new Bic pen made from recycled plastic and bamboo golf tees that are biodegradable. Hey, every little bit helps.
[...] With Earth Day right around the corner, many people will be planting trees to help our environment. While these trees are being planted, multi-billion dollar Marriott International will be paying villagers in parts of the Amazon rainforest to not cut down trees. [...]
Hi Marc,
Kyle here, contacting you on behalf of the Monitor Group. Been following your sustainability column closely for some time now and was especially interested in your piece on Marriot International and the government of the Amazonas yesterday.
It’s a truly fascinating relationship that shows true business innovation from Marriot International. One of the key points that you made on yesterday’s partnership (in your blog post that discussed your column) was that Marriot International wouldn’t have pursued the environmental initiative if it didn’t make bottom line business sense.
In looking past the obvious PR value that you mentioned – it does. The environmental groups that they are trying to attract are already a large demographic and the overall group of green-savvy consumers will continue to grow over the next decade.
More importantly it has core business value. Sustainability has become a crucial element of business strategy as the pace of corporate-wide recognition has accelerated. Consumers and businesses are beginning to factor in “green†to their purchases which has led companies to ask how they can properly address sustainability. In addition, other key stakeholders, including employees and shareholders, are taking into account companies’ positions on sustainability in the decisions they make.
These issues are increasingly affecting multiple components of businesses including the ability to attract sales, talent and capital. The “Wal-Mart Effectâ€, which you’ve addressed, (i.e. responsibility for products before / during production and after purchase) has accelerated a change in business models for corporations like Marriot International and gives them a greater opportunity to innovate within and create sustainable solutions for their customers.
You also pointed out in your blog posting that Marriot International has a broader effort in place to measure and reduce its environmental footprint. This is another important area where corporations often miscalculate their efforts. Looking solely at the carbon footprint of a company doesn’t give a comprehensive look at the environmental impact of a company.
Businesses need to utilize comprehensive diagnostics to understand their clear environmental footprint and be transparent with their findings (Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles being the best example). By looking in-depth at the entire supply chain, businesses can asses where their greatest environmental impact is – and where the greatest opportunity exists.
I’d love to chat further with you about this topic as well as connect you with the folks from Monitor to discuss in more detail.
Hi Mark,
This is Ross from TheCorporateSide.com. I just wanted to say hi and tell you how much I’ve enjoyed reading your blog. I’ve always been intrigued by the actions that corporations take (or do not take) without regard to their bottom line. To me, Marriott’s actions are very encouraging; as an avid supporter of corporate citizenship, I am excited about the initiatives that companies are taking to improve the world.
More and more, corporate citizenship seems to have become a vital part of any company’s core strategy, hopefully leading to a further proliferation of corporate social responsibility among for-profit firms.
Keep up the great blog!