A Timeshare Sales Company Taking an Important Environmental Stand
Friday, April 25, 2008
How many times in the past year has The Timeshare Owners Blog written about Marriott Hotel and Marriott Timeshare Company doing the right thing for the environment? And here I am, singing the praises once again of what the Marriott Corporation is doing to help preserve our planet…
J.W. “Bill” Marriott was quoted in one of the company’s recent press releases as saying, “At Marriott, we realize that we are all guests on this planet. We share a responsibility to look out for the long term health of the environment. That’s why we believe the future of our business is green.”
The press release goes on to explain that the Marriott company will be offsetting its carbon footprint by partnering with the Brazilian State of Amazonas to preserve and protect 1.4 million acres of the Amazon Rainforest.
Five years ago, we didn’t understand the meaning of “carbon footprint”. Most of us didn’t realize that our carbon footprint is a measurement of how much our activities produce the greenhouse gases that negatively affect the environment. We did not think about the appliances that run 24/7 in our homes, the car we drive to work each day, and even the energy burned in the production of the clothes we wear and the food we eat. But we are all becoming much more aware of how our lifestyle affect the Earth.
So three, sincere and heartfelt cheers for Marriott for being environmentally conscious and learning what their company’s carbon footprint really is, which, by the way, is 2.9 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.
Marriott, as a corporation, has committed to cutting fuel and water consumption by 25 percent per available hotel room or timeshare unit over the next 10 years. If you have read The Timeshare Owners Blog in the past, you know that Marriott hotels and Marriott timeshare have already switched to eco-friendly eating utensils for their employee food service and provided reusable drink ware to their employees in order to reduce the consumption of Styrofoam cups. Additionally the company purchases nearly 50 million recycled BIC pens each year. And while disposable ink pens – at first consideration – don’t seem like a great threat to the environment, think about the billions of them that are filling up landfills, one tiny space at a time.
Are You Green at Home, But Consumptive in Hotels, Restaurants, and Timeshare Resorts?
I think we, as a culture, are growing more environmentally conscious. We are learning that it not only improves the long range outlook for our planet, but it benefits us personally in dollars saved. People are downsizing their cars, using more energy efficient appliances, and generally making a greater effort to leave a “smaller” footprint behind.
But there is something about spending other people’s money, that doesn’t concern us as much as it should. It’s evidenced in ways, like people leaving lights on in hotel rooms and timeshares, that they wouldn’t leave on in their homes. They take longer showers, hotter baths, and leave the television playing, even when they are out of their room or timeshare condo. They do it because they can, and because they think it doesn’t cost them anything extra. But it of course, ultimately we all pay the price of wasteful behavior.
So as a traveler on this planet, ask yourself if you treat the consumables in public places like they come from an “endless source” rather than using them responsibly and conservatively? Take the time to learn what size carbon footprint you and your family are personally making.
And thank you, Marriott Hotels and Marriott Timeshares for heralding this message that should be taken to heart by every company that builds or runs hotels, restaurants, timeshare resorts, and all those other places we all like to enjoy:
“As we build global opportunities in beautiful destinations around the world, we should leave as light a footprint as possible.”
Here’s a YouTube video suggesting ways you can minimize your own carbon footprint.