Travel Industry Environmental Initiatives: Saving Rainforest, Eliminating Cars, and Offsetting Travel

Taking care of the planet we all share is no easy feat, but Marriott International is making it easier for guests at its more-than 3,000

hotels worldwide to offset their carbon footprints. Through Marriott's Spirit to Preserve, a five-point environmental strategy, the company has developed a carbon offset program available in all of its hotels. This unique initiative allows guests to offset the carbon footprint of their hotel stay for as little as $10, or $1 per day, per room for up to 10 days. The funds raised from this program go to help protect the Juma rainforest reserve in the State of Amazonas, Brazil.

Through an agreement with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, Marriott and its hotels' guests are protecting 1.4 million acres of pristine rainforest in The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve. Without this intervention, up to 62 percent of the Juma rainforest would be destroyed by 2050 due to illegal deforestation, resulting in 4 million tons of carbon emissions in the first 10 years alone. Marriott partners with many other organizations to preserve the environment. Marriott's Spirit to Preserve program also includes environmental initiatives focused on:

 

· Water, waste & energy reduction

· Developing greener solutions throughout the supply chain

· Building & upgrading hotels to meet stricter environmental standards

· Educating employees and guests to support the environment through their everyday actions

 

Also deserving attention for recent environmental efforts include Intrepid Travel, which will carbon-offset all of its itineraries by early 2010, and the city of New York, which made Times Square car-free. Plan accordingly!

 

(Sources: Marriott, PR Newswire)

 

For more earth-friendly vacation planning, visit Earth Tones by RTM.

 

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