Marriot Unveils Global Sustainability and Social Impact Commitments
This week Marriott International launched a new sustainability and social initiative for the needs of their employees, customers, owners, the environment and communities. Marriot launched an article on their website announcing the new campaign which is called "Serve 360: Doing good in Every Direction" This ambitious agenda is their way of addressing the shift in consumer, social, and environmental needs.
"As the global hospitality leader with properties and associates across 125 countries and territories, Marriott International has a global responsibility and unique opportunity to be a force for good in all aspects of our business – from helping to reduce carbon and water use to providing our associates with human trafficking awareness training,"
-Ray Bennett, Chief Global Officer, Global Operations at Marriott International
Serve 360 Executive Leadership Council Co-Chair.
The campaign identified four areas of priority that will deliver the positive results that they are seeking.
Nurture Our World- To support the resiliency and sustainable development of the places they live, work and visit and investing in the vitality of natural resources and to deliver aid and support in times of need.
Sustain Responsible Operations- Sustain portion of the campaign is to integrate sustainability across their company and mitigate climate risks and working to reduce environmental impacts of their hotels and to source responsibly.
Empower Through Opportunity- To help in the inequality and lack of opportunity issues that the work force is facing today. Since the hospitality industry is so large, and lastly growing Marriott feels they should be part of the solution by pairing with nonprofits to, focusing on youth, diverse populations, women, people with disabilities, veterans and refuges.
Welcome All & Advance Human Rights- Promote cultural awareness and promoting peace and working with nonprofits to educate and advocate for human rights in and outside of the business.
This initiative is a major step forward for Marriott and is going to the pave the way for many other companies to follow their lead. Coming off the recent Starwood merger, Marriott is one of the largest brands in hospitality and has one of the largest global presences. Their commitment to the environment and recognizing social and cultural setbacks and how they will seek to improve these is inspiring, especially as a person just starting out their career in this field. Their four area of concentrations are clear and concise and are all reachable goals that can be applied to all of their properties.
