Marriott Helps Suppliers Develop Green Best Practices
Earlier this week, Marriott International and the World Environment Center (WEC) announced a new partnership designed to strengthen the environmental commitment of Marriott’s Costa Rican suppliers.
This new initiative, part of a program called “Cleaner Production Private Sector Partnerships,” is supported by the United States Department of State and will help Marriott develop supplier best practices that can, in turn, help strengthen the communities worldwide where the company operates.
Through the WEC partnership, a group of Marriott’s small and medium-sized local suppliers in Costa Rica will be trained by WEC to improve their manufacturing operations and maximize efficiencies in their facilities. As a result, Marriott hopes to save energy, water, and raw materials –and cut costs, too.
According to a press release, this training, and the follow-up given to the participating companies, will allow Marriott suppliers to minimize environmental effects while improving their productivity and competitiveness.
Marriott is committed to protecting the environment and addressing climate change through their Spirit To Preserve™ program, and the greening of the corporation’s $10 billion supply chain is a key part of this effort.
“At Marriott we are committed to working with our suppliers on a global scale, to build a sustainable supply chain of worldwide value and recognition, and we work with the suppliers to incentivize them to use specific tools and training that will help us achieve that goal together,” says Bill Hartwig, Marriott’s Vice President, Supplier Relations and International Procurement.
The travel and leisure industry traditionally lags others in facing the challenges associated with climate change, so its particularly encouraging to see that Marriott is continuing to take a leadership role with regard to sustainability. In addition, the emphasis on collaboration with suppliers is a smart move for Marriott because these types of partnerships are fundamental to mitigating risk throughout the global supplier network.
